Steps
by roseyheart
Summary: Eric and Calleigh are married and have a family, and something happens to Calleigh that causes her to end up in the hospital. Eric makes some bad mistakes while she's there. What will happen to him? Suck at Summaries. It's a good read, so read it. Now.
1. Chapter 1

_Beep. Beep. Beep. _Damn. Why did I have to get fired from CSI? I wish I was with Calleigh, but instead I'm working in this dumb grocery store. All I ever do here is scan items and repeat the same line over and over again,"Do you have your Shop N' Save card?" I am expected to do it in a cheery voice , but how can they expect me to be happy working in a grocery store? It is just so tedious! The janitor gets more brain stimulation cleaning the aisles than I do interacting with customers. That's probably due to the fact that a large percentage of the customers are senior citizens. Slow, indecisive senior citizens who are partially deaf and always need help finding their coupons. In my opinion, they might as well get a card because they save more with the card. Plus, the bright lettering makes it easier to find. Another large percentage of my customers is female. And these ladies aren't just some random old bags. Oh no. These women are young ladies and I'm pretty sure I've dated about 50% of them. Okay maybe it's more like 75%. Either way, I don't care because now I have an great life with Calleigh. I love Calleigh, she's my everything. That's why I married her. I sighed. I am such a fiend for her.

I checked my watch. 4:35. Yes! My shift was over in 10 minutes. I worked on my customers until someone came to replace me for the night shift. When I was finally free from that cold prison, I rushed out into the stuffy parking lot and jumped into my car. I quickly started the engine and sped off to the pre-school to pick up my 4- year- old baby girl, Gabriella. Gabriella and Calleigh are the only two things that get me up in the morning and keep my heart beating until I fall asleep. My life is pretty screwed up right now, but at least I know that I have my girls to come home to every day.

Within a matter of minutes, I had reached the pre-school. I walked up to the entrance and stepped inside of the brightly colored, cold building. I still can't get over how big this place is. There were pictures on every wall in every hallway and classroom. Calleigh's friends owned the school so Gabriella came here for free. which was such a relief because of my current situation. I made my way to the afternoon center to pick up my little girl. "Mr. Delko?" A woman's voice asked. I turned around and saw Gabriella's teacher walking towards me.

"Yes?"

"Gabriella's in the infirmary. She wasn't feeling well this afternoon and we contacted Mrs. Delko about her earlier. She was worried and decided to pick her up, but she hasn't shown up. And that was about 4 hours ago." she said checking her watch.

"Wait a minute. You're telling me me that Calleigh hasn't shown up at all? She hasn't called you or anything?"

"Yes." She nodded, her eyes wide with concern. This is freaky. Calleigh was always on time for everything and this was definitely unusual. I had the strongest gut feeling that something was wrong, and I couldn't shake it off. I threw on a fake, reassuring smile anyway.

"It's probably nothing. Something must have come up and she always forgets to charge her phone."

She nodded and smiled. "Alright then. Why don't we go and get Gabriella? She's been asking for you all day." She motioned for me to follow her. That was one thing that I disliked about these teachers. They talked to me like they would their students, really slow and as if I couldn't understand. I followed her to the small white room where Gabriella was fast asleep in the corner. She was sprawled out on a blue cot with her blanket and her little Teddy bear. Her little purple backpack was resting on the wall next to her. I slowly walked towards her. I bent over and shook her lightly. "Gabriella.." She exhaled heavily and rolled over onto her back. I shook her again. "Gabriella..." Her eyes fluttered open. "Daddy" she mumbled. Her voice sounded hoarse and weak. "Princesa, how are you feeling?"

She closed her eyes. "I feel horrible!" she said throwing her hand up to her forehead. I chuckled softly and shook my head. That was something she had definitely picked up from Calleigh. " Come on, Princesa. Let's go home." I said, lifting her up into my arms as I stood up. I bent down to get her bag and I swung it over my shoulder. She wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her face in my shoulder as we head out towards the car. I opened the back door and I strapped her into her car seat then I jogged around to the other side of the car to open my car door. I jumped in,buckled up, and drove home.

When I pulled into the driveway there was no sign of Calleigh, which wasn't unusual. Calleigh usually got home later than me on Tuesdays and Fridays because she extended her hours into the night shift. And since it's Friday today, I wouldn't expect her to be home. But that still didn't stop me from worrying. I took Gabriella out of her car seat gently because she had fallen back to sleep and I carried her to the door, then I dug out my house keys and slipped them into the lock. I opened the door and flicked on the light.

Our house was small compared to most houses in Miami. It was pretty simple; 2 bedrooms, 1 and 1/2 bathrooms. It always smelled like food in here, and that was probably due to the fact that we were always cooking. Calleigh and I fought all the time about who would cook. Since we could never agree on it, we just would mix them together creating some....interesting dishes. Gabriella doesn't mind because, just like me, she eats everything. And I mean everything.

I walked upstairs and laid Gabriella on her bed with her bear. I threw a blanket over her because for some strange reason, she enjoys having one even though we're in 100 degree weather. What a strange child. I jogged down the steps to watch some television and wait for Calleigh. Dang. I bet there is going to be nothing good on. I flipped on the news channel. They were showing a surveillance video of an old couple who robbed a convenience store yesterday. I spread out on the couch to watch the rest of it. I almost had almost drifted off to sleep when my phone rang, scaring me out of my peaceful state. I hate modern technology. I flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Eric? Where are you? Are you ASLEEP?! What the hell are you doing at home?"

"......Who is this?" I asked, confused.

" Seriously?? Eric this is Natalia! Why aren't you at the hospital?"

"The hospital? Why would I be there? Is there a problem with someone at the lab?"

"Wait....you don't know?", she asked softly. "Calleigh's in the hospital. She was in a car accident earlier, on the way to a scene. She's in critical condition.....why didn't you get a call?"

I didn't say anything. "We're at Jackson Memorial Hospital. You can bring Gabriella if you need to. You know, if she has nowhere else to go." I nodded but since she couldn't see me, I muttered a brief "thanks" and I hung up. I sat with my head buried in my hands. It took me a moment before I jumped up and raced upstairs to grab Gabriella. She was sitting on her bed, talking to her Teddy bears and she stared at me curiously when I came in. "Daddy, what's wrong? Are you sick?" she asked me sliding off the bed. I smiled slightly at her but it quickly faded away.

"No, Princesa. Mommy is hurt and she's in the hospital. We need to go see her now."

"Okay." She said, slipping on her sneakers. I secured the straps for her and picked out one of her sweaters from her closet in case she got cold. I ran to the coat closet and grabbed a backpack. I rushed back to her room and I filled the bag with a couple of picture books and a few coloring books. I put in her favorite trucks as well because she didn't like dolls. She only liked to read and play with cars and trucks. I took her hand and led her into the kitchen. I put in as many snacks as I could. I also made a quick peanut butter sandwich for her since she didn't have dinner yet. I knew that I would need more things for her but for right now, this was going to have to do. I threw the bag over me shoulder and I led Gabriella out to the car. I strapped her in and threw the bag on the backseat next to her. I was about to shut the door when her little voice yelled out,

"Wait!"

"What is it, Princesa?" I said impatiently. Now, I love my little girl, but she has some bad timing.

"I want to get something for mommy."

I sighed and took off her seat belt. She ran for the front door and waited patiently for me to unlock it. I unlocked it and she ran up towards her room while I waited by the front door.

"Hurry up, Gabi!"

"I'm coming', I'm coming'!" she said. That one was definitely something she got from me.

She came down the steps carrying her favorite bear. It was from when she was a baby. It had old, tattered, brown fur and two different buttons for its eyes; one bigger than the other. Honestly, it gave me the creeps, although it didn't seem to bother Calleigh or Gabriella.

We jumped back into the car and sped off to the hospital. Soon enough we were in the parking lot. I carried Gabriella to the entrance of the hospital, My whole body was tense and my face must have shown what I felt because everyone I walked past threw me looks of remorse and sympathy. This was just like the time when I lost Marisol. _No, Lord please don't let this happen again. I couldn't lose Calleigh._ I shook the thought out of my head. I would not lose Calleigh. She's a fighter and I know she'll pull through. I walked through the glass doors and scanned the room for the reception desk. The waiting area was full of old people, crying babies, and a bunch of pregnant women who kept looking around the room at other pregnant women. I finally found the receptionist and i walked-well, jogged-over to her desk.

"Excuse me? ......Excuse me?" She was bent over a stack of files, scribbling notes about patients.

"EXCUSE ME?!" I repeated a bit louder, since she obviously wasn't paying attention the first time.

She put her pen down and stared at me with a look of annoyance in her icy, blue eyes. "What do you want?" she said, a hint of a southern accent in her voice.

"Oh, ah, I need to see my wife. It's an emergency."

"Isn't it always" she muttered under her breath. "What's her name?" she said, pushing her desk chair toward the files and away from her desk.

"Calleigh Delko. C-A-L-L-E-I-G-H."

"Calleigh...Calleigh...oh here it is. She's in room 421."

"Thank you." I rushed of in the direction of the elevator and jabbed the 'up' button impatiently. I put Gabriella down and continued to press the button until the elevator FINALLY came to the main level. We filed in, along with about 6 other people. I pressed the 4th floor button and thankfully, we were the first stop. The doors of the elevator shut and it lifted us upward. That elevator was extremely untidy and you would think that a nice hospital like this would have some decent elevators.

We reached our floor and we had to push through the crowd to get through the doors. I must have tightened my grip around Gabriella's hand because she looked up at me and tried to tug her hand out of mine.

"Daddy, ouch." I quickly let go of her hand and rubbed the perspiration off of mine.

"Oh, sorry." I looked up and saw people from the lab. H was the first to see me.

"Eric..."

"H, how is she?'

He hesitated before he answered. "Not too good."

Everyone turned to look at me. All of their faces were filled with a mixture of sadness and anger, but no hope. H took Gabriella's hand and led her back to where the rest of the lab sat. Alexx came over to me with a worried expression on her face.

"Now, Eric," she said in a low voice,"I haven't told everyone else because I wanted to tell you this first. Calleigh has suffered many major injuries. The largest one is a TBI which is a traumatic brain injury. And I don't really want to worry you even more, but I need you to know that there might be a slight chance that she won't wake up. If she does wake up, she'll have a bit of memory loss and lack of concentration. In addition to that, she has a spinal injury which will require therapy for a long period of time in order to recover. Then she has a torn spleen which we stitched up since it was only a small tear, so it should heal just fine over time. She also has a fractured leg and arm. Luckily, these injuries are only temporary, but they will require extensive hospitalization. But Calleigh is strong and she's a fighter." she laid a comforting hand on my cheek. "I also have some more news. The man in the truck that hit Calleigh decided to pay for her entire recovery process since the accident was his fault."

I took all of this in. I didn't know what to say. Alexx understood and pulled me into a warm embrace. She held me for a moment and then let me go. "You should go see her now." I nodded and walked towards her room door.

I slowly pushed it open and stepped in. I shut it quietly behind me and I walked to a set of chairs. It was silent except for the steady beeping of the heart monitor. I sat in the chair next to her bed and stared at her. She looked so fragile. Her skin was pale and covered in scratches and bruises. Her arm and leg were in casts and she was covered in bandages. I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out so I gently lifted her hand and brought it to my lips. I shut my eyes tightly and tried not to think about Marisol, but of course I failed and images of her in the hospital flooded my mind.

_Marisol's skin was pale and she looked peaceful, almost as if she was asleep. The room was dead silent except for the continuous beeping of the heart monitor. This cancer was eating away at her, and it could take her life anytime she couldn't fight anymore. It pains me to see how she barely ever lived her life because of the cancer treatments that consumed her schedule, and the pain that was too unbearable for her. Her life was over before it even began, and I couldn't do anything to help her. I walked over to the set of chairs near the wall. I sat in one and pulled it forward so I was sitting closer the bed. I took her thin, fragile hand in mine and I put my head against the edge of the bed. "Lord, please help her through. I need Mari...."_

I opened my eyes and stared at her. My eyes flooded with tears. Men don't cry! Men don't cry! Screw it! A tear rolled down my cheek. I sat with her for a half hour, talking to her, praying with her, humming her favorite songs......I didn't know what else to do. So I got up and kissed her softly on the cheek. I walked to the door, giving her one last look, before heading out into the hallway.

Alexx must have told everyone what Calleigh's condition was because they looked worse than before. I wonder what I looked like? Hell, like I care. My heart feels like the Hulk just stomped it to bits and now it's expected to heal itself. I heard a fit of high-pitched giggles to my left. I turned around slightly and guess what I saw? Jake, of all people, tickling my princesa. I hate Jake with a burning passion. I was slightly jealous of him because he still held a special piece of Calleigh's heart. He still loved her and she still had some feelings for him. I could see it in her eyes and I could never tell her how much it hurts me when she looks at him like that. Her feelings are the only thing stopping me from blowing his head off. I mean COME ON! He looks like a fucking Wolverine!! How any girl could fall for him is unclear to me. But for Calleigh's sake, I just had to grin and bear it. Damn.

I focused on something other than the Wolverine for a minute, and I went over to Alexx. "Alexx, I want to stay here with Calleigh but I don't know who Gabriella could stay with. I don't want to keep her here all night, since she has a slight fever, so do recommend anyone?"

"Honey, you don't have to worry. I'll take care of her for as long as you need me to. Besides, I have a key for the house, so I can get whatever I need if you're not home."

"Are you sure, Alexx?" Because Gabriella can be quite a handful sometimes...."

"I'm sure. I had two babies of my own at one point, remember?"

"Right. Thanks, Alexx. I owe you one."

"No you don't. Just stay here with Calleigh and don't worry about it."

I smiled. Isn't she just the best? "Gabriella!" I called

"Yes, Daddy?"she came running over.

"You're going to sleep over Aunt Alexx's house for awhile. She frowned and pouted a little.

"Why? I want to stay with you!"

I crouched down on the Linoleum floor to meet her eyes. "Now, Princesa, you know Mommy is sick, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"And you know I need to stay with her, right?"

She nodded and sniffled."I wanna stay, too"

"Princesa, you can't stay with me right now, but I'll come and see you tomorrow."

"You promise?"she asked softly.

"I promise."

"Okay, I'll go with Aunt Alexx. But can you give this to mommy?" She handed me her Teddy bear.

I nodded and kissed her on the forehead. She wrapped her arms around my neck, squeezing the heck out of it.

"Alright - Princesa - Go - with - Aunt - Alexx - now." She released my neck and kissed me on the cheek. Hallelujah.

"Bye daddy!" She ran off and grabbed Alexx's hand.

Alexx had gathered all of her things into her bag. I stood up and thanked her again. "No problem, baby" she said.

When they left, I went to buy Calleigh some tulips. I bought a bouquet of white tulips in the gift shop on the second floor and took them up to her room. I slipped Gabriella's bear under Calleigh's arm, then I gently set the vase of tulips on the table beside her bed. I sat down in a chair and stared at her until I fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning I wake up to find Calleigh unconscious. Although I knew the odds, I couldn't help but feel disappointed that she hadn't awaken yet. I continued to stare at her for awhile, silently hoping that she would wake up. After about 15 minutes, I slowly stood up and stretched. Man, sleeping in a chair is painful. I head back home to take a shower and to change my clothes. Then I returned to the hospital to spend the rest of the day with Calleigh. That is basically my daily routine. I didn't eat anything because I was sinking into some strange sort of depression. I felt empty without Calleigh or Gabriella around. I want to pick my little girl up, but I'm afraid that my attitude won't be healthy for her. I called Alexx and she reminded me that Gabriella was welcome to stay as long she needed to. Like I said, Alexx is the best.

For the next week and a half I followed that same routine. I was given time off of work to stay with Calleigh and my boss was strangely understanding. He must know how I feel. When H came to see me, he said that I should eat something because I was getting thin and I looked pale. There were dark bruises forming underneath my eyes because I was losing more and more hours of sleep each night. I was lost and dead to the world.

On Thursday morning, I woke up feeling tired since I barely got any sleep. I opened my eyes to a bright and sunny room and I shut them quickly. I tried opening them again, and this time I succeeded. I stretched my arms a bit, before raising up from the chair and beginning my daily routine.

When I reached home I took my shower and got dressed in......well I have no idea what I got dressed into because I couldn't care less. I walked back downstairs and I passed a mirror on my way to the door. I caught my reflection in the glass and H was right, I looked bad. My stomach growled. Maybe I should get something to eat before I go. I went into the the kitchen.

"Hmm, what can I eat?" I muttered to myself. I scanned the cabinets for some goods, but came up empty. Damn. Calleigh is the one who usually remembers to go grocery shopping. I sighed. I'm not really hungry anymore. But I guess I should eat anyway. I grabbed a roll and decided to make a turkey sandwich. I sliced the roll, buttered it, and piled on lettuce,tomato, and turkey. I have to admit, this sandwich looks pretty good.

I went to living room and sat on the couch with my delicious turkey sandwich. I flicked on the television with the remote and the news channel was on. I quickly changed the channel because the news is evil....very evil. I hate the news. I changed it to some kind of Spanish soap opera and decided to watch that. I continued to eat my sandwich all throughout the program. Even when my I finished my sandwich, I continued to watch the rest of the show. When that one was I finished, I watched the next few episodes since they were having a marathon. By the 8th episode I was hooked. There was just so much drama. Man, now I know why women love this so much. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, wanting more. When the marathon was over, another show came on and it was like 10x less exciting than what I was watching before. About halfway through I drifted off to sleep in the middle of a love scene between two guys.

_SOME HOURS LATAAA..._

I woke up with the sun shining in my face..again. I got up and changed my clothes not even bothering to take another shower. I jumped into my shiny silver vehicle and sped off to the hospital. Before I went up to her room, I stopped in the gift shop and bought her another bouquet of tulips in assorted colors of pink, yellow, and white. Those were her favorite colors and I thought that her room could use a bit of brightening up.

When I reached her floor, the H and the rest of the gang had smiles full of relief on their faces. When they spotted me they threw me even bigger smiles of relief. If only they knew how creepy they looked... Alexx had Gabriella in her arms and they were the only two who looked upset. A worried expression crossed my face.

"Alexx, what's up with everybody?"

"Well, Calleigh woke up last night and everyone is relieved." she said with a slight smile. I grinned widely. I swear, my heart just skipped a beat. I can't believe that she's actually is awake. I felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. A huge weight.

"Oh Alexx, that's great! But what's wrong with Gabriella?" I asked, lifting her from Alexx's arms.

She sighed. "Honey, Calleigh doesn't remember her. She doesn't even remember that you two were dating, much less married. "

What?! Bullshit...bullshit..."Oh no. How long will this last?"

"Maybe a couple of weeks or so, depending on how long it takes for her memory to return. But until then, we all have to go along with what she remembers because this type of thing can really harm her recovery process if we're not careful."

I sighed. Just when I get my Calleigh back, some other shit just has to come out of nowhere and ruin it. I mean I knew she would have memory loss, but I thought that maybe she would be confused about where she was and stuff, not that she would forget that we were married and had a little girl! That is the type of thing you just don't forget. But then again, I can't be mad at her. It wasn't her fault that she couldn't remember. I am going to have to keep reminding myself. It is not her fault. It is not her fault. It is not her fault.

"Thanks, Alexx. But if she asks about Gabriella, what do I say?"

She thought for a moment. "Honestly, Eric, I think you should just hold off on the whole Gabriella idea until she begins to remember. We tried to jog her memory before but she came up unresponsive and even more confused. I don't want to say that you should avoid having her near Calleigh, but just try not to mention her if you don't have to. Remember, we don't want to harm the recovery process. I'm so sorry."

Gabriella buried her head in my shoulder. Somehow she understood that she couldn't see Calleigh and it was upsetting her.

"Princesa, how about we go to the Arts N' Crafts store after we leave the hospital? How does that sound?"

She lifted her head and smiled brightly. "Oh, we can go there?" she asked softly.

"Yes, Princesa, we can." She wrapped her arms around my neck, squeezing it once again. I wished she'd lay off of the strangling for awhile. She thanked me and I put her down. When I stood up, Ryan looked at me and mouthed 'How do you do that?' I shrugged and mouthed back 'I have no idea'. He laughed and shook his head. I walked to Calleigh's room door. I hesitated to open the door. Maybe she wouldn't want to talk to me. Maybe she'll be asleep. I should just go No. I shook those thoughts out of my head and opened the door anyway. And you would never guess what I saw.

Wolverine was making out with Calleigh. My heart started to break all over again. So she remembers that they were dating, but not that we're married. This sucks. I can't believe that I have to play along with this. What if she never remembers? There still is a slight chance that she won't feel the same way about me and Gabriella and that she'll stay with Jake. This is so frustrating...

I cleared my throat, interrupting them. Calleigh was the first to look at me.

"Oh, hey Eric!" she said wiping the corners of her mouth. Why?! Why?! Why?! This is just so twisted...

"Hey Calleigh." I said with a surprisingly believable smile on my face.

"Sorry about that.." She shot Jake a death glare. Ha-ha.

"No need to apologize." I said walking over the other side of the bed, NOT occupied by Wolverine. " I just came to bring you these." I held up the tulips.

"Oh thanks, Eric. I love them. How did you know my favorite colors?"

"You're welcome, hon - Calleigh." This is killing me. I placed them on the nightstand and kissed her on the cheek. "Feel better." I was about to leave the room ( unfortunately ) to let her continue with Jake, but she grabbed my wrist and stopped me.

"Wait...could you stay for awhile? Please?" she asked smiling a dazzling smile that I couldn't resist.

"Sure...." There's hope!

She gave Jake a look. "Jake, do think I could talk to Eric alone for a moment?"

He looked surprised for a moment. " Oh, yeah sure. I'll be out in the hallway." He kissed her fully on the lips for a little longer than necessary and looked at me when he pulled away. He is so milking this, taking advantage of my wife's memory loss..... I only wish that she'd remember and that she wouldn't kiss him back willingly.

She smiled as he left the room, and when he left she turned to me. "Eric, I'm sorry for keeping you here. I just really missed you."

"It's fine, Calleigh, really."

"Good." she said with a smile.

We sat in a comfortable silence for awhile and then I heard a soft snoring noise coming from her bed. "Calleigh?"

She didn't respond. She must be asleep then. I settled in my chair and shut my eyes. I drifted off to sleep listening to the soft sound of her snoring, which I loved so much.

_2 HOURS LATAAA_

I woke up to the fast beeping of the heart monitor. Calleigh was thrashing around violently in her sleep. 3 nurses came running in the room. "What happened?" one of them asked as the other two tried to hold her down and restrain her. I shrugged. The nurse turned back towards Calleigh, who began to scream. After a couple of minutes, her eyes shot open and she stopped moving and screaming. She was sweating and breathing heavily and there were tears in her eyes. She started trembling. "It-It h-hurts. Make it s-stop. Please" she breathed softly.

The nurses exchanged glances. "We'll have one of the doctors come in" one of them said. They left the room whispering, leaving Calleigh and I by ourselves. She started to move again so I grabbed her hand and rubbed comforting circles on the back of it with my thumb.

"Shh, shh, calm down, Cal. You'll be fine." I hope. She started to calm down a bit, but she continued to cry, sweat, and breath heavily. A doctor came rushing in.

"What's the problem?"

"I have no clue. She keeps muttering about something hurting her."

He began to feel gently around her abdomen and my guess is that he hit a sensitive spot because she let out a loud shriek. "Well, she tore open her spleen again, so we're going to have to either repair it or remove it. She needs to go into surgery immediately for a splenectomy." The doctor called a couple of nurses in and they wheeled Calleigh out of the room. I followed them out of the room and was about to follow them down to the operating room when Alexx stopped me.

"Don't go, honey, it'll be too much." I wanted to protest, but she was probably right. "Take Gabriella to that store she loves so much. She kept asking for you while you were in there with Calleigh, you know."

I looked over at my angel. She was fast asleep on a chair, with her head in H's lap. My heart broke at the sight of her. I haven't been spending time with her and she must feel horrible without either of her parents around. "Alexx, why is she asleep? Didn't she get enough sleep last night?"

She shook her head slowly. "No, not really. She really does miss you."

"Alright, Alexx. Thanks for letting her stay with you. I'll take her home tonight, because I really miss her, and I want to talk to her about Calleigh."

"Sure" she said with worried eyes. I walked over to H.

"Eric, how is she?"

"She's, ah, bad. She tore open her spleen again so they have to remove it." I scratched my head.

H didn't say anything, but the look in his eyes told me that he understood. He went through the same thing with Marisol. "Well, are you going to be alright?"

"Yeah, Yeah, I'll be fine." I said, scooping up Gabriella.

"Let me know if you need anything." He threw me a halfhearted smile as I carried Gabriella down to the elevator. She woke up when we reached the ground level.

"Daddy..." she muttered slowly. "Are we going to the Arts N' Crafts store?"

"Si, princesa. We'll be there soon."

"Mm hmm" she mumbled happily.

We jumped into the car and went to the Arts N' Crafts store. By the time we reached the parking lot, Gabriella was fully alert and awake, talking to me about things that were totally irrelevant.

"Daddy, what are we going to get?"

"What would you like?"

"Grilled Cheese."

"What?"

"I want to get paints, crayons, paper, glitter.."

"We have all that stuff already, you know."

"Do we have cheese to make grilled cheese?"

"Huh?"

"Daddy, I want to be a princess for Halloween."

"That's great, sweetheart...."

The only thing that could make her act that random is sugar, and in order for her to be that out of it, she must have eaten like a king sized bag of Skittles or something. But I guess I can't complain. I needed some kind of distraction to keep my mind off of Calleigh and that surgery. I mean, isn't she like at a higher risk for infections since she can't fight them off? What if she gets some crazy infection and...dies? Let me stop over-thinking things because I just need to be hopeful and pray for the best. Even if a small part of me is focusing on the worst.

I pulled into a spot close to the entrance of the store. Gabriella took off her seatbelt and waited for me to open the door. When I opened it, she hopped out onto the pavement. She grabbed my hand, pulling me towards the entrance of the store. As soon as we went inside the store, I grabbed a cart and soon enough it was filled with.....stuff. And it wasn't small stuff either. She went all out. Gabriella picked out a large set of markers in a spectrum of colors, a large (and I mean large) container of Model Magic **(A/N For those who don't know, Model Magic is like Play-doh but it's used for art projects, sculptures, etc....search it on the Internet and you'll see what I mean...let the story continue =D)**, some stickers,a few pads of paper...scratch that....many pads of paper, and since she wanted to draw trucks and bears, I bought books on trucks on bears. Even if she can't read, she still likes to (attempt to) draw them and they will last for awhile since she respects her books.

Before we even reached the check-out line, Gabriella spotted candy and decided she wanted some. I decided against it, but her wide, pleading brown eyes made me consider it. What's the harm? Shes already bouncing of the walls anyway so this honestly couldn't hurt. I hesitantly agreed, and she ran off to get some.

"Eric?" The woman in front off me had turned around and I recognized her from college.

"Jen?" Jennifer used to be my best friend I have no idea how we split up, but I guess after we got our diplomas we just separated and took different paths. I squeezed around my cart to give her a hug.

"Oh my god! I have missed you so much! Where have you been these past years? I haven't seen you in like ages!" she said as she unloaded her shopping from her cart.

"I've been around. You know, Jen, we have to hook up later, right? I mean, there's no way I'm letting you slip through my fingers again. I've missed you too much." I said smiling. Wow, I actually smiled a genuine smile. That's something I haven't done in awhile. I reached across her stomach to help her unpack her things from her cart.

"Thanks for the help and yes you're right. We have to meet up again. Definitely." She had trouble pulling out the last thing, so I helped her out. While her things were being rung up, we exchanged phone numbers.

"Eric, what are you doing tomorrow?" I thought for a moment. Gabriella is going to see my mother so...

"I'm free."

"Great. Do you want to meet up by the marina?"

"Sure, I'd love to. What time?"

"12? We could do lunch on a boat. I'll bring the drinks and you can cook, because I love your cooking."

"Deal. But only if you make those awesome smoothies. Oh and that delicious red velvet cake."

"Deal." she handed the cashier her credit card and signed her name. She grabbed her bags and put them in her shopping cart. I helped her load them back in.

"Call me." she called out as she walked off with her cart.

"Not if you don't call me!" I yelled back. She laughed. I began to unload my things onto the belt as Gabriella came running back with a bag of gummy bears. She put them with the other things and wrapped her arms around one of my legs.

"Princesa, what took you so long? You didn't get to meet my friend."

She shrugged. "There's a lot of candy here."

I chuckled and continued to load my things. The cashier rung them up slowly. How long does this actually have to take? Good God. Finally when the Turtle finished ringing up the items, I took out my wallet and payed him. I grabbed the cart and led Gabriella to the car. I packed all the shopping in the trunk before leading Gabriella to the side of the car to strap her in.

"Daddy, tomorrow can we go to the beach?"

"Not tomorrow, sweetheart. You have to go to Manuela's house, remember? She really is looking forward to seeing you." I said as I strapped her into the car. She crossed her arms. Oh, no. I can feel a fight coming on.

"No. I don't want to go. I want to stay with you."

Let me play the nice card first. "Princesa, Abuela misses you. She's making your favorite cookies."

"No! I want to stay home! I don't wanna see Abuela!"

Let me try one more time. "Princesa, you'll have fun. Please go for me and mommy?"

"NO! I'M NOT GONNA GO!" she yelled, her cheeks flushing.

Okay ,usually Calleigh would be the one to deal with this because she has some strange female connection with her. But since that's not an option, I'm going to have to do it. Alright so let me set her straight. I'll use that word that Calleigh uses...Missy. That must have some affect. Right? "Listen, Missy. You are going to your grandmother's house and that's FINAL. I don't want to hear ANY complaints. Understand?" I must have hit a soft spot because she frowned and stuck her bottom lip out. She turned her face away from me so I sighed and shut the door. At least it worked.

I walked to my door, jumped in, and drove off in the direction of our home. To be honest, coming home sucks. Sure, it's my home, and I have Gabriella to keep me company, but my wife, the love of my life, is in the hospital. Home is not home if she's not there by my side. It's killing me now. Jake/Wolverine gets to hold her and kiss her; He gets to do all the things that I wish I could do. I bet he's probably going to try to build up their relationship again. And I can't do jack about it. Bull-shit.

We pulled up into the driveway. I turned the key in the ignition, turning the engine off. I got the car and walked around to Gabriella's side of the car. I opened the door. Maybe she'll be happier now. "Gabi?"

She had already taken off her seatbelt so she leaped out of the car and walked past me with a cold, pissed expression on her face. Well, excuse me. When did my little angel turn into this woman with attitude? Dang. I shut the door and got the bags out the trunk. They were pretty heavy, but its not like anyone was around to help me so I struggled with them all the way to the door. I had a bit of problems with my keys and Gabriella was standing on the steps impatiently. I finally got the right key into the lock (after some....minor setbacks). Gabriella sulked inside and flopped on the couch, burying her face into the seat. Sigh. I can already imagine what she's going to act like as a teenager. I put the bags down and sat next to her.

"Gabriella," I said softly, trying to comfort her. "Why are you so upset?"

"You and Mommy don't want to see me anymore."

"No, you're wrong. We both love you. More than you think."

"Why doesn't Mommy want to see me?"

"She does, but she's sick. She got hurt badly, and she doesn't remember that we're a family. It might be awhile before Mommy comes home again." I doubt that she even cares about what I just said. I've been like legally neglecting her and I can understand how she must feel right now.

"NO! You are lying. I hate you!" Her lip started to quiver again, but this time, her eyes filled with tears. She turned her face away from me again, just like she had in the car. That could only mean one thing: she's going to cry. Now, Gabriella doesn't cry much because Calleigh usually works her mommy magic to fix the situation. But since she's not here, things are going to spiral downwards. I could never stand to see girls cry, even from when I was younger with my sisters. It always made me feel sad because I always tried to make my sisters smile. So if she starts to cry, I don't know what I'm going to do.

She began to whimper softly. "Princesa, please don't cry" I pleaded with her. She cries just like Calleigh. It starts off slow, then the tears hit you full force with a large BANG! She continued to whimper and then the whimpering turned into sobbing, which, as expected, turns into the full force crying.

It was HORRIBLE! She just wouldn't stop. She had buried her face into a pillow, and when I tried to wrap my arms around her, she pushed me off. And the volume kept escalating. It would quiet down for a bit, then just start all over again in a louder tone. Other parents advise me to just leave her alone and let her get it all out because you don't want her to think you'll spoil her. But how can you just leave a crying little girl like that? That's wrong. WRONG! I sat by her for a bit longer before she jumped off the couch and sped up to her room. She slammed the door forcefully behind her. I sighed and stared down at the beige pillow she had been holding. It had a dark, wet spot where her face had been in addition to quite a bit of snot on the edge. Gross. Since there was no use in even trying to make amends with her, I turning to my best friend - Television.

I hit the POWER button and the screen flicked on. Since that dumb show that I didn't like was on the soap channel, I switched it over to Noggin. Yes, I watch Noggin. It really does help to know about these shows if they are all your child talks about. When I switched it on, three pictures were displayed and I had to figure out which one was different, which didn't exactly take rocket science to figure out. I watched a couple more shows before I dozed off during some commercials.

_1 HOUR LATAA_

I awoke to find a picture stuck to my chest with glue. It was a picture of me, Calleigh and Gabriella holding hands next to Calleigh's MDPD Hummer. It said '_Dady I sorey. Lave Gabriella.' _**(A/N For the slow people who didn't get the message, it meant 'Daddy, I'm sorry. Love, Gabriella.' Now finish the chapter. =D)**. I smiled. It doesn't matter that she ruined a perfectly new shirt with her glitter glue. I'm just happy that she's forgiven me. See? Everything is all good.


	3. Chapter 3

"Gabriella! This is the last time that I will warn you. Get your butt down here now before I have to go up there and get you myself!" Wow. I actually sounded pretty scary there. Nice job, Delko! She came down the stair dragging a bag full of trucks behind her. Although she had agreed to go today, she was still cranky about the fact that she had to get up early. My response: "Deal with it." Her response: "You suck monkey balls." Well she didn't exactly stay that, but I bet she's thinking it. We got an early start because I needed enough time to cook. Good food can't be rushed. I dropped Gabriella off around 9 o'clock, and returned home to start the lunch for the picnic.

By the time I was finished, I had about 3 meals worth of food. I had made empanadas and Cuban sandwiches each with a slice of pork, ham, and Swiss cheese and then topped with pickles and mustard on sweetened egg bread and others with a thin slice of palomilla steak on Cuban bread garnished with lettuce, tomatoes, and fried potato sticks. I had also made such as pastelitos, croquetas, and bocaditos for snack. It took me a couple trips to the store to actually find something to put this in, and I finally decided on a cooler because a picnic basket was (1) too small (2)_ way_ too girly for me to carry. I began to pack all of the food in the cooler. While I was packing, my thoughts drifted to Calleigh.

"_Eric..." _

_I turned around on the couch. "Hey, babe.... What's wrong?" She had a small, sad smile on her face that she had been wearing all throughout dinner, and every time I asked her about it she would either look away or tell me that it was nothing. She kept curling and uncurling her fingers nervously and she was being unusually quiet._

"_I have to talk to you."_

_I motioned for her to sit next to me on the couch. She nodded and sat on the edge of the couch, about 3 feet away from me. I gently pulled on her wrist to bring her closer, but she shook her head._

"_Eric, you know that I love you, right?"_

"_Of course, Cal. I love you, too."_

_A slight smile grew on her lips, but it quickly disappeared. She looked down at her hands in her lap and started folding them and unfolding them nervously. "That's good..." Her voice cracked at the end. She sniffled loudly, still not meeting my eyes. _

"_Calleigh, do you need to tell me something?" I tried to reach for her again but she squirmed even farther away. Now, I may not be the brightest penny in the pig, but I know that whatever she has to tell me can't be good._

"_Well...I do but....nevermind. It's not that important." She got up quickly to leave for upstairs. "Goodnight."_

_I reached over and pulled her back down next to me. She still wouldn't meet my eyes, so I cupped her chin to turn her face towards mine."Cal, no matter what you say, we can get through it. So just tell me what you need to."_

_She buried her face into my chest. "I'm pregnant." _

_WHAT?! She's upset over this? Well, I know I'm not. I'm so happy; I feel like my heart is soaring. I can't even move. I am numb with happiness. Wow, that even sounded cheesy in my own head. When I didn't say anything, she looked up at me. _

"_I knew you'd be mad. That's why I was afraid to tell you. I'm am so, so sorry." _

_This is so strange. Calleigh didn't want to tell me because she thought I would be angry? I have always wanted a family with her and she thinks I'm mad? I was going to ask her to marry me next week on our anniversary! " Calleigh....relax. I'm not mad."_

"_Oh, thank god. I thought that you wouldn't want to have kids yet. But I understand if you don't want to stay together anymore be-"_

_I cut her off with a kiss. Her nonsense rambling was way off. I pulled away from her and she groaned unintentionally. "Calleigh. Stop. Just stop talking. You are way off."_

"_I am?"_

"_Yes, baby, way off. Like way off."_

"_Oh, I'm so relieved. I thought I was going to have to do this alone." she smiled and looked down at the floor. _

_I have to admit that I am a bit hurt. She thought I would leave her alone with our baby? What kind of man does that? I love her to bits and I could never leave her like that. "Cal, please don't ever think I'll leave you. Ever. I love you, more than you know." I got up and went upstairs to get the engagement ring. This would be the perfect time to bust that out. I retrieved it from its hiding spot in my sock drawer. I rushed downstairs and bent down on one knee in front of Calleigh._

"_Now I know that this is a random, unromantic time to do this. But I feel that its the right time. I'm ready to spend the rest of my life with you; Loving you, caring for you, and never ever leaving your side. I know you're way too good for me, but I am madly in love with you and I can't imagine the rest of my life without you. You make my life complete, so....will you marry me?" _

_She didn't answer. She covered her mouth with her hands and stared wide-eyed at that ring, then at me, then the ring again. "Of course" she said softly. Yes_! *_imaginary fist pump!* I slipped the ring on her finger and pressed my lips to hers. Ah! Happily ever after...._

I put the last item in the cooler and sighed. Remembering those days made me feel down. No! Jen is back. I need to feel happy. I don't want to spoil today. I will not think about Calleigh 's condition right now. I hurried upstairs to change my clothes since I spilled food on them while making the sandwiches. I chose a white, button down shirt and a pair of dark jeans. I rolled up my sleeves just the way I liked 'em, grabbed a sweatshirt, and headed downstairs. I took out my cell phone to call Jen because I had no idea where we're going to meet yet.

While I waited for her to pick up, I carried the cooler out to the car. I started up the car and sat in the front seat waiting until she answered.

"Hello?" a female's voice asked.

"Yeah, Jen? It's Eric."

"Oh I'm Lauren. Jen's in the kitchen. You must be that sexy Cuban guy who she's making those smoothies for." I heard Jen yelling at her to shut up.

I chuckled. "I guess I am. Could you do me a favor and ask her where she wants to meet?"

"Sure. Hold on. JEN?! THE SEXY CUBAN GUY WANTS TO KNOW WHERE TO MEET YOU!" Jen yelled at her again, but this time I didn't catch what she said. Lauren came back on the line. "Jen said that it would be easier if you could just pick her up so you guys could go together."

"Yeah sure. What's her address?" Lauren gave me her address. 61 Oakland Dr... Hmm.. I know where that street is.

"OK, thanks. Tell her I'll be there soon."

"JEN, _ERIC_ SAID HE"LL BE HERE SOON!....OKAY! Yeah, Eric she said cool."

"Thanks, bye."

"Anytime." I flipped the phone shut and drove off to Jen's house.

_20 MINUTES LATTAAA_

I got out of the car and knocked on the door to Jen's house, with the flowers I had bought in hand. I had passed a florist and I remembered that Jen had an obsession for white roses. So I bought a dozen hoping they would make her happy. A blonde woman answered the door. "Hey, you must be Lauren."

"Yeah and you must be Eric. Come in." She opened the door wider and motioned for me to come in. Jen's house was nothing like I expected. It was small, yes, but open. The walls were white, but the furniture was modern, bright colors of red, brown, white, and black. Sunlight poured in from the large windows, lighting up the room.

"JEN, ERIC THE SEXY CUBAN GUY IS HERE! Jen came running from the back.

"Lauren!!! What is wrong with you? Hey, Eric. I hope she's not harassing you."

"It's fine." I held out the flowers. "And these are for you. I just hope that you still like these." She smiled and took them.

"I still do. Thank you! I'll go put them in a vase." Jen left quickly and Lauren started humming a love song while she walked into the back of the house. As she left, Jen came back with her own cooler, which was the red version of mine. "Are you ready to go?" she asked.

"Yeah, let's go." I led her out to the car. It's a good thing I dropped Gabriella's car seat over my mother's because if I hadn't that cooler would have never fit in the back seat. After we manged to shove the cooler in the back, we got in the car and began our drive to the marina.

"Eric, I'm so sorry about Lauren. She has a tendency to embarrass me in front of people."

"It's fine. She made me laugh."

"No, that was horrifying." she said giggling.

"No, that was funny."

"Whatever." she said smiling. We sat in a comfortable silence for awhile before we got caught in traffic.

"Oh come on." I said under my breath. "You've got to be kidding me."

Jen looked at me. "There is no way we're going to make it out of this traffic. This road is the only way to the harbor and its backed up for miles."

"Yup, you're right."

"Want to just get some ice cream at the park?"

"Yeah sure, but what about the food?"

"Since you like my cake and smoothies, and your food is to die for, why don't we just switch coolers?"

"Okay. Why not?" I turned off the main road onto a little dirt road, which hopefully, led to a neighborhood. We rode on for a bit longer before the car slowed to a stop. "What the heck?" Jen and I got out of the car to inspect it and guess what? We had popped a tire on a sharp rock. Jen sighed.

"Do you have a spare?" she asked.

"That _was_ the spare."

"Okay Mr. Unprepared. Let's have a picnic here! It'll be fun!"

I looked at her like she had grown a second head. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah." She had already begun to get out the coolers. I shrugged. Why not?

We opened each others coolers on the hood of the car. She had packed have of the red velvet cake and about 6 bottles of smoothies. "Oh my god, Eric this looks so good."

"Thanks. So does this cake! What flavors are these smoothies?"

"Try them and find out. It's a surprise." She had brought cups and plates because she knew I'd forget, so I shared out the drinks while she unwrapped the sandwiches and snacks and put them on plates. We carried our food back inside the car to eat because those were the only seats around. We began to eat in silence with the occasionally chewing and swallowing noises. I only had one sandwich before I attacked that cake. I LOVE red velvet cake. It just tastes so awesome. By the time I finished my 4th piece, I was stuffed. I looked over at Jen who was collecting our dirty plates.

"Let me help you" I offered but she waved me off with her hand.

"I got it, I got it. You should focus on getting us a tow truck."

"Right." I got out phone and dialed a familiar auto company.

"**Bob's Towing Co. How may we serve you?"** A male voice asked.

"I need a tow truck out here."

"**Stay on the line while we locate your vehicle."** I waited a bit before the voice spoke again.**"You've been located. The tow truck should arrive in about 2 hours."**

"3 hours?"

"**We're sorry. It'll be impossible for us to get there any faster with this traffic."**

"Alright, then Thanks." I flipped the phone shut.

"When will it get here?" Jen asked.

"2 hours."

"What? Oh no, give me that phone."

"Sure." I said handing her my phone. "Why?"

She didn't answer. Instead she put the phone on speaker and put her finger to her lips, signaling me to stop talking.

"**Bob's Towing Co. How may we serve you?"** the same voice asked.

"Yes, I ah need a tow truck out here."

"**Stay on the line while we locate your vehicle." **We waited for a bit before the man came back on the line. **"You have been located. The tow truck should arrive in about 2 hours."**

"2 hours?"

"**Yes. We're sorry. It'll be impossible for us to get there any faster in this traffic."**

"Are you sure? It's pretty hot out here and there's no one out here to keep me company." she said in a seductive voice.

"**Oh, really? Well I think I could grab a truck and head on over there myself. I should be there within 30 to 45 minutes."**

"Thank you so much." She flipped the voice shut and handed it back to me.

I began clapping my hands. "Nice job, nice job."

"No problem. Tow truck drivers are natural creeps. They prey on lonely women."

We waited in the car for the truck to arrive. We talked about little things like the news, the weather, etc. Soon enough, we heard the sound of a truck coming up behind us. Jen got out of the car first. She walked over to the driver, and when I stepped out of the car, the look on his face was priceless. He looked pissed.

"Hey, man. Thanks for coming. Listen, I've got a popped tire. Do you think you could tow me to an repair shop or what?"

"Oh, ah, yeah sure. Whatever." Ha! He looked confused and a bit upset. He just got played!

"Cool."

_2 HOURS LATAAA (sorry I just did not feel like writing unnecessary things about cars) _

We pulled into Jen's driveway. "Eric, I had an awesome time. Crazy as it may sound, this was probably the most fun I've had in a long time."

"Hey, no problem." I turned off the car. "Let me walk you to your door." I went around to open her door then I went to the back to fetch her cooler. I walked with her to her door, carrying that heavy cooler. How did she even get this out of the kitchen? She dug around in her pockets for her keys.

"Ah, here we go." She pushed the key in the the lock. Before she opened it she turned around. "Thanks for today, Eric." She stood on her toes and kissed my lips softly before heading inside. Holy CHICKEN NUGGETS! I stood there frozen for a second. Did that just happen? Tell me that didn't just happen. N-no. Jen just kissed me and I just feel so dirty. I didn't push her away because..well...it felt nice. NO!! NO!! Shut up,Eric!! I walked back to my car and got in. I just began to drive, without even thinking about where I was going.

Somehow I ended up in the parking lot of the hospital. Should I go see Calleigh? I really want to, but I don't know if I can face her right now. Well then again, she DOES think she's dating Jake. But then again, she doesn't know any better. But then again- no. What I did was wrong. So suck it up and go see her. I got out of the car and walked towards the entrance of the hospital nervously.

When the doors of the elevators opened up on Calleigh's floor, the whole lab looked liked they'd been there all day. Now I felt double-bad. Horatio got out of his seat when he saw me.

"H, what's going on?"

"Not much, Calleigh's surgery went fine."

"Oh, thank god. That's great."

"Yes, but she's developed a high fever."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, and she's not looking too good. She's been asking for you since this morning."

Alright, now I feel triple-bad. "Alright H, thanks."

I went over to her room door and opened it. When I peered inside, she was asleep. So I stepped inside and shut the door behind me softly, trying not to wake her up. I walked over to a seat next to her.

"Eric....Eric...mm....Eric.." I looked over at Calleigh. Her eyes were half closed, but she was awake. "Eric?"

"Yes, Cal, I'm here."

"H-hi."

"Calleigh you need to get some rest. Don't talk."

"No, I.....want....to talk......to you. I...want....ed...to....all day." Her speech was slurred, probably from the pain medication.

"Cal-"

"Eric, please...I'm fine..." She turned her head a bit and reached for something. The way she twisted caused her to whimper in pain. She shut her eyes tightly, before opening them again. "I'm sorry."

"Are you alright? Do you need me to get a nurse? Do you want more medication? Are you comfortable? Do you want water?"

"I only want for you.... to calm down... and stop worrying. Please...chill. I just irritated.... my stitches a bit. You want to see..... them?"

Hm...Do I want to see Calleigh's creamy, luscious skin? Or not? Let's think rationally here. "Sure, let's see if they beat the scars on my head."

She smiled and reached down with her good arm without the cast . She pulled up her gown to her ribcage, and pulled the covers down to her waist. She pulled back the bandage a bit. "See?" I cocked my head to the side. Where was the creamy, lusciousness that I was expecting? The wound Calleigh had was stitched up, and the skin around it was red and irritated. I was quite big compared to what I had pictured. And it was also lathered up in some weird gel-like stuff. Regardless, I still wanted to kiss her all over.

"Yup, you definitely beat me." she smiled and pulled her gown back down again. I pulled the covers back up to her chest. "Now, please try to get some sleep. For me." She shook her head slowly. "Yes, sleep." I kissed her forehead. "Now. I'll be right here with you." I was about to go to my chair, when she pulled me back towards her.

"Thank you." She kissed my cheek softly before she let me go. She shut her eyes and settled into the sheets. I grabbed her hand before sitting down in a chair.

Oh God, what have I done? When she gets her memory back, I have to tell her what I did. I don't care what happens. She deserves to know. I drifted off to sleep with my head resting on the edge of the bed, her hand in mine.


	4. Chapter 4

I woke up to someone rubbing small circles on the back of my head. When I lifted it, my tired brown eyes met Calleigh's bright green ones. She smiled. "Good morning."

"Hey, Cal. What time is it?" She shrugged. I checked my watch. 10:14. "Oh crap. I have to go pick up Gab- I have to go now." Woo..... I almost slipped there.

She frowned. "Why? You have plans?"

"Ah, yeah."

"Oh okay." She said disappointed.

"Bye." I kissed her forehead.

"Bye, Eric. Are you coming back later?"

"Yeah."

I left the room quietly, and as soon as I shut the door, I was shoved against the wall. "What the – Lauren?" She was giving me a death glare that would have made a pack of lions run away. **(WARNING!! STRONG LANGUAGE!!)**

"What the fuck?!" she asked, clearly pissed. Her arms were folded across her chest, as if she was waiting for an answer.

"Uh, should I know?"

"Don't play any fucking games with me."

"Okay what are you talking about?"

"PLEASE, explain to me why Jen thinks you are dating, when you obviously married to Mrs. Delko? I mean, you guys kissed! What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Okay, wait let me explain."

"I just asked you to so START TALKING!"

"Look, I had no intention of making Jen believe that we were getting together. None. I love my wife and I would never cheat on her."

"You dumb shit. What are we going to do? There is no way you are going to break Jen's heart like that."

"I don't know. I was planning to tell Calleigh once she got her memory back-"

"OH wow." she cut me off. "Your wife lost her memory? Oh that just puts the icing on the cake."

I sighed. This DOES look bad. "I don't know what to do, Lauren. I don't want to hurt Jen or Calleigh. I need your help. But first just tell me...how did you find out about Calleigh and I?"

She rolled her eyes. "Well I just got transferred to this area of the hospital 2 days ago. When I checked the records for Mrs. Delko so that I could give her pain medication, I saw she had your last name so I thought she was like your sister-in-law or something. But when I went o her room today and saw you kiss her and the way you looked at her, I knew something was up. It doesn't take an idiot to figure that one out." Wow. Was I really that obvious?

"Hm, yeah, I guess you're right. What are we going to do?"

"You are going to tell Jen. There isn't any other way." she said, her voice softening a bit.

I sighed and scratched my head. What a buzz-kill. "Fine."

She grinned. "Glad we're on the same page." She turned around and walked down the hall away from me.

My cell phone begun to vibrate in my pocket. "Hello? I asked, bringing it to my ear. Sometimes I really wish that I check the caller ID. It's much easier to skip this whole 'hello' thing.

"Ah, Eric?"

"Hi, Mom. What's up? Did something happen with Gabriella? Is she alright?"

"Yes, yes. Calm yourself. She's fine. I just called to tell you that I'm taking her out today, so don't pick her up until tomorrow."

"Okay, sure. Where are you guys going?"

"Oh, nowhere special" she said innocently.

"Are you taking her to buy toys?"

"Well.....yes, I am. She has been begging me since last night and she has a strange way of manipulating people into doing things her way."

"Okay. But not too much. You spoil her too much."

"Oh and you don't?"

"Mother..."

"Fine, fine. Sorry. I won't go overboard."

"Thank you. I'll see you later. Bye."

"Bye, Eric. I love you."

"Love you, too." I flipped my phone shut.

So my schedule is completely free, and I don't know what to do. I wish I could go see Jen, but I don't think I should. I might give her the wrong idea. I could hang out with someone from the lab, but they'd treat me like somebody just died or something, since Calleigh's in the hospital. Or I could just stay with Calleigh. Yeah I like that idea. I walked back towards Calleigh's room door.

I opened the door and Calleigh looked up at me from her breakfast. "Oh, hi Eric. I thought you said you had something to do today."

"Yeah, well, change of plans I guess."

"Oh okay then." She pushed her tray away from her.

"Oh no. You are going to eat that food whether you like it or not."

She frowned. " Nah. I'm not even that hungry anyway."

I walked over to the side of her bed and sat down. " Cal, come on. At least try to eat something. You haven't eaten anything for 3 days. The nurse told me how you refused everything she gave you. So what's going on?"

She shrugged and stared at the wall above my head. "It's nothing. I just don't like hospital food."

"Calleigh, I know you. You wouldn't blow off chocolate pudding."

She sighed. "I'm just frustrated."

"What do you mean?"

"I overheard Alexx telling Horatio that I should probably regain my memory back soon and I've been trying to figure out what I can't remember. I've talked to everyone and nothing is jogging my memory. And I just...don't feel like eating right now."

"Oh. Well it'll come back to you eventually. It's only temporary."

She closed her eyes. "Right."

We sat in an comfortable silence for a couple of minutes before Calleigh grabbed my hand and gasped. "Calleigh? Calleigh! What's wrong?!

"Oh wow... I just remembered something."

I breathed a sigh of relief. Why does she always have to scare me like that? Not cool. "What do you remember?"

"I just remembered when you were shot....and when I was in the hospital for something with my lungs......and then me getting....married? I'm married?! To who?"

I looked down at her hand on top of mine. I guess I should just tell her. She'll probably be angry but...there's no use in trying to hide it from her now. "We're married."

"Oh....oh my. You mean, you and I are...." I nodded. "When?"

"Cal, I don't want you to go on brain overload. Just think about it and it'll come back t-"

"No" she interrupted. "Stop. I just want you to explain everything to me."

I hesitated. "Alright. You and I are married. We've been married for 4 years. We started dating and I was fired from CSI because of it."

"Oh." Calleigh stared at her lap. "Well who's Gabriella? I'm going to take a wild guess and say that she's my ….........daughter."

"Yes, she is. She's 4 years old now."

"Yeah...everything is making sense now. I remember when I got pregnant ...and when you.....when you...proposed to me."

"Yep."

"Wow. I can't believe I forgot all that. I'm so sorry."

"It's fine. I'm just happy you remember....Oh! And I have something for you." I dug around into my pocket and pulled out two rings. I slipped mine of my finger and slipped hers on her finger. "What do you think?"

"It's beautiful" she said, examining her hand. She looked at me. "Eric, I don't think I should take this."

You know, I felt like I was proposing to her all over again. Except this time she says no. I take her hand in mine but she pulls away. "It's yours. Take it. I don't know if you still feel the same way you did before but...it's worth a try." She nodded. I lean over to kiss her lips but she turns her head slightly and I get her jaw.

"Eric, no. Don't."

"Why?"

"I..I don't know. Just give me some time."

"Right. Yeah, I'm sorry." And here comes the awkward silence. Wait for it. BAM! Awkwardness....awkwardness....awkwardness...."Cal, I'm gonna go now. I'll talk to you later."

"Oh, wait, no. Will you stay with me?"

I stood up and leaned against the edge of the bed. "Alright look. You need to make up your mind. Since the first time I saw you in this hospital bed, I have wanted to kiss you, hold you, and tell you I love you just like Jake could. But I didn't. I have been waiting and wondering when I was going to get to have my beautiful wife back in my arms, and when she finally remembers, she won't even let me kiss her or touch her. If only you knew how much it hurt to sit around and watch that. But I guess you just don't." I stood up straight again and walked towards the door.

".......I'm sorry.." she breathed. I didn't turn around. I just kept walking towards that door, trying to get the image of Calleigh's sad, shocked face out of my mind. "Please don't hate me." I didn't even turn around then. Not even to tell her that I didn't hate her. I could never hate her. I'm in love with her. But I couldn't face her; not now. "Eric, stay. Please. I don't want you to leave."

I froze with my hand on the doorknob. I dropped my hand slowly and turned around. The look in her eyes nearly knocked me to my knees to beg for her forgiveness. She had a pained expression on her face, and it killed me to know that I was the cause of it. "Calleigh, I can't. I just can't" I whispered. And with that I turned around and walked out the door.

_1 HOUR LATAAA!!_

17 missed calls. 17 voice mails. 17 times I avoided Calleigh. Why? I didn't want to hear her making up excuses. I mean, I can understand the fact that this is all just new and coming back to her. But she would let me hold her hand and kiss her forehead before she found out we were married. What changed? You would naturally expect that she wouldn't mind. You can't just throw away 5 years of love like that. But of course, I'm wrong. Women are confusing. I gulped the last of my drink down and set the glass on the counter. "Get me another one."

Yeah I know. Drowning my sorrows in alcohol is bad and I'm disappointing Calleigh because I promised her that I would never be like her father. But this just feels so good. I just downed one beer after another and soon enough I washed all my fears and my worries away.

_THE NEXT DAY.....I THINK_

Ugh, what the hell happened? I sat up and scratched my head. Ow, I have a massive headache right now. I looked around the room and this most definitely did not look like the bar. I was in a bedroom of some sort, and from the looks of it, a woman's room. What was I doing here? Wait a minute.....this could only mean one thing. I looked down and -yes, you guess it- I was naked. Crap. Panic and guilt rushed over me. I looked over next to me and whoever else was in this bed was buried underneath the covers. Slowly and gently I pulled back the cover to see who it was.

"JENNIFER?!?!?!!" I yelled. She groaned and turned over onto her back, exposing her chest to me.

"What do you want, Lauren? I'm tired..."

"It's not Lauren! It's Eric!!" I pinched the bridge of me nose, trying to dull the aching pain is my head. Hangovers stink.

Jen rolled off the bed with sheet. She emerged, fully awake, with the sheet covering her chest. "What are you doing naked in my bed?"

"I don't know! Last thing I remember is drinking at the bar. You know, The Drift? That's where I was."

Her eyes widened. "I was at that bar, too!" She covered her mouth. "Oh wow. So that means that we.....oh my god." She stood up with the sheet wrapped around her and sat on the bed. She studied me for a moment before she let out a small gasp. "Eric, what's that on your hand?"

I looked down at my hands. "What?"

She grabbed my hand at pointed at my wedding band. "That."

Whoops. She wasn't supposed to find out this way, but what can I do about it now? I can't lie to her so I might as well tell her. "Oh...I'm married."

She raised her eyebrows, widening her eyes even more. "Shit. Why didn't you tell me before?" she shook her head. "This is super embarrassing!"

I honestly did not know what to tell her. It was all my fault that we were in this situation. "I'm sorry." I tried to put a comforting hand on her shoulder but she shrugged me away.

"Eric, just go into the bathroom, get dressed, and get out of my house." she covered her face with her hands. Quietly, I got up and got my things together. I walked to her bathroom silently, because the last thing I needed was Lauren knowing I had sex with Jen. Oh my god. I had sex with Jen. I cheated on my wife. I got drunk and _cheated_ on my wife. With Jen! I feel like a... man-whore! How am I going to tell her? I just called her out on her behavior yesterday. What I did is like 100 times worse. But I can't keep any secrets from her. She doesn't deserve that.

I finished getting dressed in the bathroom, and not a moment too soon. I needed to get the hell out of there. I made my way out to my car and drove home to changes my clothes. When I got home, all I wanted to do was ….do nothing. When did my life become so jacked up? But I did do something because if I didn't, I would just float in this pool of sadness and guilt. I took a shower, changed my clothes, made a sandwich, and left to go pick-up Gabriella.

On the way over to my mother's house, I got lost in my thoughts. I was filled with so much guilt it wasn't even funny. Calleigh doesn't deserve this. If you think about it, I was the wrong one all along. I had no right to try to kiss her even if I wanted to. I didn't respect her feelings because I'd just assumed she was going to be the same Calleigh that she was before. And the fact that I snapped at her makes me feel even worse. She didn't even have control over what happened to her and she's trying her hardest to get back to her regular self. Her regular perfect self. Ugh. When I stopped to the dreaded 5 minute red light, I pulled out my cell phone. I had 2 unread text messages; one from Alexx and one from Natalia. I opened the earliest one from yesterday.

_-Calleigh told me what happened. The stress is causing her 2 get severe headaches. Fix this. She doesn't need the extra trouble.-_

I didn't need to open the second one from this morning to know that Natalia was going to be on my ass about this.

_-U suck. Calleigh's not mad u. She's mad herself. She's beating herself up over this 1. Oh! And she wants to c Gab 2day.-_

I sighed, flipping my phone shut and putting back into my pocket. I've ruined everything. I remember when I could piss off Calleigh and she'd just make me sleep on the couch for the night. She would never get sad; just mad. But she would always forgive me the next day. I'd never upset her intentionally, though. It's always my ego and my douche-mindedness that makes me do stupid things. The light finally changed green and I drove the rest of the way thinking about how I was going to fix this.

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Yeah I know, I know. Sulking Calleigh isn't exactly doing wonders for me but I absolutely love making Eric seem like a screw-up! Besides that I just wanted you guys to know that I am thankful for reviews ( flames accepted )! So review...! =D Oh and yeah sorry about the language. I just felt like doing that type of thing. Also sorry if it was kind of hard to follow ( it was difficult to write ). But let me know of anything else I jacked up and have an awesome time picking your nose later on today when you think no one's watching! Byezz!


	5. Chapter 5

I stood impatiently at the door waiting for her to answer. She opened the door softly. "Oh hi, Eric. Come in, come in." She opened the door wider and motioned for me to come in. Gabriella ran up and tackled my legs.

"Hello, daddy."

"Hi, princesa. Did you have fun?"

She nodded her head against my knee. "Yeah! Grandma buyed me a train set! And I made you a picture." I smoothed her straight brown hair on her head.

"You did?" She nodded and ran off somewhere. I looked at my mother. "A train set? Really?"

She shrugged. "It was on sale."

I shook my head. " Mom, I need to talk to you about something. Something about Calleigh and I." I might as well seek her advice. If anyone could help me right now, she would be the one to do it.

"I know. You have that look on your face which tells me that you are frustrated and sad. So what's wrong?"

"It's a long story." I began to explain to her about the accident, the memory loss, Wolverine, Jen, when Calleigh got her memory back, how I screwed up....everything. I gave every little detail and she only interrupted me once to ask about Calleigh's condition. She let me go on and on until I'd finally finished my explanation.

"Oh my goodness. You mean to tell me that you got drunk and had sex with Jennifer? That sweet girl from your college?"

"Yes. And now I feel horrible. I mean...I was drunk but...I don't know. I don't even know how to tell Calleigh all of this now."

"Oh no. What were you even planning on doing before you came to me?"

"Well to be honest....I was thinking of getting a divorce with her. I wish I didn't have to, but right now it seems like the best option. I can't even begin to imagine how I much I will hurt her with all of this. Although I never meant to do any of this, I can't change the past. What's done is done."

"A divorce? Is that necessary? Have you even talked to Calleigh since yesterday? How would you know how she feels? I'll bet that she loves you as much as you love her. You can just make these kinds of decisions without talking to her first. You might not want to, but you still should let her know."

Man. She's right. "Yeah, I should. I'm heading over there as soon as I leave here because she wants to see Gabriella."

She took my hand. "Good. Now give me a hug and get out of here." I smiled sadly and reached over to wrap my arms around her.

"Thanks." I released her and got up as Gabriella came from in the hallway, her bags in tow.

"Look, I got all my stuff together all by myself!" She smiled proudly.

"Good job!" I took the train set box and her clothes from her. "Say goodbye to Grandma."

"Bye bye, Grandma." She ran up to her, pecked her cheek, and dashed back towards me to grab my hand.

"Bye, sweetheart."

"Bye, mom. I'll talk to you later." She nodded as I led Gabriella out to the car. I loaded up the trunk, strapped her in, and drove to the hospital to break the news to Calleigh."

_AT THE HOSPITAL!_

"Daddy, why do we have to come to the store? I want to see mommy now!" We were waiting for the cashier to finish ringing up our things and Gabriella was starting to get quite impatient.

"Just wait a moment, princesa. Daddy's just going to buy these flowers and this book for Mommy and then we'll be on our way."

She sighed heavily. "Alright..." I turned back towards the cashier and paid for the items. "Thank you."

Gabriella and I left the gift shop and head upstairs, where I was dreading. I took the stairs instead of the elevator because I was dreading

the discussion I was about to have with Calleigh. When we reached the 4th floor, Gabriella ran off to Jake and he scooped her up in his arms. HEY!! Only I can do that.... Since when does Jake get to scoop up my daughter in his arms in a loving and caring way to make me jealous? Never! So why is he doing it now? I diverted my attention away from him for 2 reasons: one, Gabriella seemed excited and happy so I wasn't going to be a killjoy, and two, Alexx, Natalia, Valera and even Ryan were giving me death looks. H was giving me a concerned but disapproving look which made me feel guiltier. I walked over to them cautiously, wondering who was going to pounce first. My bet was on Natalia. Wait for it...Wow. She didn't say anything. In fact, no one said anything. Everyone just turned away from me and didn't say a word.

I went over to Calleigh's door and took a deep breath before I stepped inside. There was Calleigh, lying in her bed, silently staring up at the ceiling. Her face didn't light up when I came in like I'd hoped it would and she didn't even look at me as I sat down beside her. She looked sad; defeated; exhausted; empty. "Hey," I began softly, hoping to clear up some of the horrible tension in the room.

"Hi," she replied, equally as soft.

"How are you?" I wasn't sure what to say to her. I had so much to say, but I didn't know how to say it.

"Eric, I'm sorry. I didn't realize how much this was hurting you. I just didn't want to go into things to fast without straightening things out with Jake first."

"Nah, that one was all me. I overreacted. I should have given you enough time to think about it before we went into anything. So I'm the one who should be apologizing and on my knees begging for your forgiveness."

She giggled. "Eric, stop. You're fine. We're fine." She lifted her hand up to rest on my cheek, but I took and gently pulled it away Here goes nothing.

"No, Cal. We're not. I have something to tell you." She stared at me, her smile slightly fading.

"What is it?"

"I did something bad and I want you to know that whatever happens I still love you and that everything was totally accidental and that I-"

"Okay! Okay! Whatever ever it is, we can get through it, right?"

"Right. Well, while you were in a coma, I met my old college friend, Jen at a store. She and I went out for a picnic because I was always acting so gloomy and spending my time here so I needed a change. We ended up eating on an old dusty road somewhere since the car got a flat when I turned on that road trying to take a shortcut. Anyway at the end of the night I dropped her home and walked her to her door where she turned around and kissed me."

"Oh, Eric. Stop worrying yourself. It's not like _you_ kissed _her._ But you _did_ straighten the situation out right?"

"In the end, yes, but there's more."

"Okay......"

"See, when I got mad at you yesterday, I went to a bar to soothe my nerves." She shot me a disapproving look. "I had a couple of drinks and somehow blacked out. When I woke up, I was," I took a deep breath,"naked in Jen's bed."

"Oh." Once again she looked away from me. " I'm not sure what to say to you right now. I've never had anyone cheat on me before. I feel betrayed, no doubt, but it's not like you had any control over it, right? I feel mostly betrayed that you went and got drunk when you promised me you wouldn't. You could have gotten hurt or...."

Killed. She never liked talking about drunk driving because that's how her father was killed. After his death, I had made a promise with her that I would never do that to her. "Yes I know. It was stupid. I'm truly sorry. But I want to know how you feel about us right now."

"What do you mean?"

"Aren't you angry with me?"

"No. Like I said. I may not trust you as much, but I'm not mad. It's not like you slept with her on purpose."

I smiled. I want to hug her and kiss her so much right now.....no!! that's what jacked me up the last time! "That's such a relief. I thought you were going to want to divorce me."

"Why do you always have to overlook things? I love you and the whole concept of marriage is love, trust, friendship, and commitment. At the end of the day, we still have that, whether or not we make mistakes."

I couldn't help myself. Before my brain could start functioning properly, I leaned forward a kissed her on the cheek. As I began to pull away, she bought me back towards her lips. It was just a simple and sweet kiss, which I had no problem with. It felt good just to be able to kiss her. I pulled away from her sooner than we both wanted and resisted the urge to kiss her again with more passion. "I love you, too."

That brought a smile to her face. "Oh my goodness I almost forgot! Where's Gabriella?"

"Oh, yeah. She's out in the waiting room."

"Well bring her in! I've been dying to see her! I miss my little girl so much!"

With that, I went out into the little waiting area to get Gabriella, who was (as expected) with Jake. He was swinging her around like an airplane, making her giggle hysterically. Somehow that made me sad. I used to do that with her before the accident and it's been a long time since I've seen that smile on her face or that joy in her eyes. Her laughter was like music to my ears and I just realized that I hadn't heard it in a long time. When Jake finally stopped twirling her around, he cradled her into his chest where she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head against his shoulder. At that moment I felt a strange sort of resentment towards him for being that close to her. Yeah that's right. I felt _jealous_. I had to work my ass of to get that close to her and Calleigh, but here he comes strolling along Pillsbury Lane making my wife and daughter happy in ways that I never could! Doesn't that just seem wrong to you? It does to me! And the worst part about it is the fact that I can't do anything about it because it would make Calleigh and Gabriella upset. Sigh...

"Gabriella," I called. "Come see mommy!" Jake/Wolverine put her down and she ran right past me and opened the door.

"Hi mommy," Gabriella said, shyly, as she entered her room.

"Hey! Come over here! I want a hug!"

Gabriella beamed and ran over to Calleigh. "Mommy, guess what? Grandma gots me a new train! And Daddy buyed me more coloring paper!"

Calleigh looked up at me and smiled. "He did? Oh wow! I can't wait to see what you drew."

They continued to talk about other things, well mostly Gabriella "talking" and Calleigh listening, for the rest of the night. Soon, it got dark, so Gabriella and I began to say our goodbyes.

"You're leaving?," Calleigh asked with a sad expression on her face.

"Yes, beautiful, we're calling it a night. Gabriella and I need our sleep since I have to go to work tomorrow and shes starting back school tomorrow."

She slightly blushed when I called her beautiful. Natalia, Ryan, H, Alexx, and Jake were all in the room with us and Calleigh hated when I embarrassed her like that. "Oh. Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then. Bye."

"Bye, Cal." I bent down and kissed her on the lips. She tried to protest but I caught her lips in another kiss. "I'll come after work as soon as I can,"I whispered

Her face turned cherry red as I took Gabriella's hand and led her out the door. The main reason I did that was to show Jake that he was messing with the wrong man's woman. So what if it's childish? If you would have seen the way he was looking at her (like she was some tender, juicy steak or something), you would have done the same thing. Although Calleigh's probably going to be mad for the next few minutes, she'll get over it. After all, she was fine when Jake macked on her in the middle of the lab. So I figure things balance out pretty evenly now.

By the time, Gabriella and I reached home, she was fast asleep. I carried her up to her room and got her ready for bed before heading into Calleigh and I's bedroom to catch some Z's myself. I took a quick shower to relax my muscles then jumped into bed....alone. I never really thought about it before, but I honestly do miss Cal. Especially when I'm trying to sleep, it's so unusual to not have her next to me. She used to wake up in the middle of the night crying and hyperventilating over bad dreams about her father, her childhood, the cases... and I would be the one to reassure her and tell her that everything was all right. Now I can't help but worry about her. She seemed so out of it and confused when she woke up because she sometimes believed her dreams were real.

I rolled over onto her side of the bed and inhaled her scent. As creepy as it may sound, it strangely helped me fall asleep by reminding me of Calleigh's presence.

"_Eric, I can handle it. Stop worrying!"_

_I sighed into my cell phone. "Cal, there is no way I'm letting my pregnant wife drive that far."_

"_Oh come on, babe. I'm only 6 almost 7 months along! It's no big deal. The drive isn't even that far. You don't always have to wait on me hand and foot. Plus, I really want those chocolates!!," she whined. _

"_I don't care. You aren't going to lift a finger until I get home to take you. And the doctor said you should lay off the chocolates no matter how much you love them. It's not healthy for the baby."_

_I heard a sniffle on the other line. Oh no. Here come the hormones. "But, I really want them. I promise I'll be careful,"she said. It took me a while to decipher what she was saying because she had begun to cry. _

"_Baby, please don't cry. What if something happened and I wasn't there to help you? It would just really calm my nerves if I know that you are safe and where you should be. At home. In bed. It took me forever to accept you even near the stove. And even longer to accept you walking down the stairs alone. You know I hate having you drive at all. Going that far would be too much and you know it." It's situations like these that make it SO difficult to cooperate with Calleigh. She's lucky I get off early today so I'm going to drive for 2 hours to get some chocolates and flowers to surprise her. "Listen, how about you relax and I'll take care of it, okay? Please? Just for me."_

"_Oh.....fine," she finally agreed. "Thanks. I love you."_

"_I love you, too. Get some rest and stay off your feet."_

"_Stop babying me, Eric. I'm fine."_

"_I can't help it! You worry me all the time." It's true. She really does make me nervous._

_She sighed. "I'm fine. Cool. Good. Relaxed. Gr- Ah!" I heard a large bang and a small whimper._

_Alarms went off in my head. "Calleigh?" No answer. "CALLIEGH?!" Still no answer. "Are you alright? Did you fall? Are you hurt? Is the baby hurt?"_

"_No...no...no. I-I'm fine. I just...I just felt a sharp pain in my side and it caused me to... stumble and slam against the wall." _

"_Are you alright? Are you in pain? Do you want me to come home? I'll be there soon. Hold on." My heart was pounding in my chest even though she said she was fine. I was ready to dash out of this store and race over there as soon as she asked. She is breathing quite heavily. A bit too heavily for my liking. This whole thing makes me feel uneasy since there are so many complications that could occur with pregnancy._

"_No. Finish your shift. I'll be okay. I promise."_

_Her breathing returned to normal after a moment. "Okay. But please call me if you feel ANY kind of pain. Remember. Were in this together. There's no i in pregnancy."_

_She giggled. "But there's a couple in 'I cant wait until Eric gets here to cook us dinner'."_

"_Alright. I'll get there as soon as I can."_

"_Bye, babe. I love you."_

"_Yeah I know you do. Bye, Cal."_

_She laughed as she hung up. Music to my ears.

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_COME ON!!! People it would be awesome if i could get some reviews. I dont care whether you like it or not; Let me know how im doing even if you hate it! Thanks for checking this out anyway. REVIEW!!  
_


	6. Chapter 6

You guys.. I am so nervous about this chapter. I am so worried about how I captured the characters. Oh WELL! Let me know what you think? Thanks! Love you guys always. =D

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I woke up to the sun shining in my eyes and Gabriella curled up into my side. She must have had a bad dream or something, because she would only curl up if she was afraid. I stretched a bit before reaching for her shoulder to wake her up. "Gabriella? Princesa, wake up. You have to get ready for school."

She groaned and rolled over on her back. She yawned and stretched, then rolled back over towards me, throwing her arm over my waist in the process. I chuckled and shook my head. She is such a boy. "Gabriella, come on. Up. Now." She groaned again and opened her eyes.

"Daddy, are we going to see Mommy now? I want to go....,"she said, her voice cracking.

"No, not now. You have to get ready for school now. So later you'll go."

"Aw man. I don't wanna go to school."

"You have to. You haven't gone in 2 weeks."

"Oh. Okay."

I picked her up and carried her into the bathroom. I turned on the faucet, fetched a towel and a washcloth, then head back into the bathroom to give Gabriella her bath. My daily routine. If Calleigh were here, she'd be helping me with breakfast. But since she isn't, I guess I'll just have to pray I don't burn the pancakes again. I mean I can cook, but I honestly can't make pancakes. Which is what Gabriella likes to eat before school everyday. Joy.

I turned off the water and took off Gabriella's nightgown. I set her down in the bathtub before turning around to get the soap and washcloth. I bathed her (drenching my shirt in the process), dressed her, put her hair up into a ponytail (the only style Calleigh taught me how to do) and got down to business in the kitchen.

"Gabriella, how about we have jam and toast for breakfast? Doesn't that sound good?"

"No, Daddy. Pancakes. Just like Mommy makes."

Damn. Why did Calleigh have be great at pancake-making? "Oh, well, doesn't cereal sound delicious? Yum!"

She stared at me blankly. "Pancakes."

"Fruits?"

"Pancakes." She crossed her arms. Jeez what's with the attitude? Fine. I'll just make the damn pancakes. I got out the pancake mix, added water and blueberries just like Calleigh, and poured it into the pan. I stood impatiently at the stove, waiting for the bottom to cook so that I could flip it. After seeing the edges start to crisp up, I forced the spatula under the pancake, tearing it. Why? I forgot to grease the pan. I forgot to grease the fucking pan. I sighed. Well, I tried to warn her. She's going to eat this pancake. I continued to flip whatever I could over, creating a big mess. But at least I didn't burn it. I scraped the contents of the pan onto a plate and brought it over to Gabriella, who sat waiting patiently with her rubber fork. She frowned as she spotted the plate.

"Ta-DA!," I said, placing the plate down in front of her.

"Where's the whip cream face? Mommy puts the whip cream face on it."

"Oh no, this isn't a face. It's a.....plate of spaghetti."

"Oh." Her eyes were focused on the plate as if she randomly expected it to morph into a smiling, round, whip creamed face. Too bad. She could have chosen the toast.

"Eat up!" She lifted her fork and dug into the pancake. The expression on her face was unreadable, but at least she wasn't throwing up all over the place. I ruffled her hair and went upstairs to take a brief shower and get dressed so that I could take her to school.

After my shower I debated on going to work or not. See, I have to work in the grocery store part-time to bring temporary income home. But my full time job is working with ESPN. Yes, I work with ESPN. I'm not exactly sure what I do, because I never took the time to find out, but I always have to show up at 5 A.M. Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays, bright and early, smiling, with a suit and a purple tie on( I never understood why the boss made us wear purple ties, but I assumed it was some fetish that he had). I was handed a list of things to talk about when arrived, and the makeup artist, Linda, would review everything with me as she dabbed something on my face. Well at least I used to have to do all of that. Some random hater set our department building on fire so everyone's jobs were put on hold for a couple of months while they find another location and replacements for the damaged equipment.

Sigh.

I liked my job. They called me a week before Calleigh's accident and told me that I would be back on the show soon, which made Calleigh so happy. She loved my job just as much as I did(but unlike me she hated the cheerleaders). I avoided bringing Calleigh to certain events because guys , especially football players, often mistook her for a dumb bombshell, hitting on her nonstop. And you know I'm not having that. No matter how much she is oblivious to it, it still bugs me, so I'd rather her stay home. She used to protest because she loved going to the baseball and basketball games, but after I lost it and got into a fight with a Pittsburgh Pirate for grabbing her butt and touching her chest, she finally listened to me. It took awhile for her to forgive me for that and I can still remember how much we fought over it.

_She sat at the small dining room table picking at her food with a fork. Her other hand was used to prop up her head. "Calleigh, how many times do I have to tell you? I'm sorry!" _

"_M-hm."_

"_Cal, come on. I didn't mean to embarrass you."_

"_M-hm."_

"_He touched you! What was I supposed to do? Just sit there and let it happen?"_

_She sighed and lifted her head. "I could have handled it on my own. I didn't need you to beat the crap out of him. That story's on CNN!"_

"_But he touched you! And as a man, it's my job to make sure he knows he's crossing the wrong line."_

"_Oh please. Breaking his jaw and nose is really necessary,' she said sarcastically._

"_Yes! He's lucky that's all I got to break before those security guards came out of nowhere and broke it up."_

"_Eric, what is wrong with you? What if you would have lost your job?"_

"_I didn't," I said, adjusting the ice pack on my eye._

"_What if the man would have pressed charges?"_

"_He wouldn't. He'd be more concerned with getting me back."_

"_What kind of example are you trying to set for Gabriella?"_

"_Well, I could teach her a good right hook if you want...."_

"_No!," she said, clearing off her uneaten food from the table. "Oh, and you're sleeping on the couch tonight."_

"_Fine..."_

_She head upstairs while I finished my dinner. A few minutes later, I heard the shower running. That's cruel. She's going to cloud up my mind with images of her in the shower to make me pay. Not cool. I have to sit here while that water soaks her hair and runs down her body all the way down to her- NO! I will not think of that. I will not think of that. I will....not think...of that._

_Soon the water stopped and I could hear the bathroom door opening and then the bedroom door closing....and locking. I finished up my dinner and went into the living room to watch television. I flicked through the channels and finally settled on CNN. Wow we really are on here. They were showing a video of the fight and discussing it. Halfway through the discussion, Calleigh came downstairs carrying sheets and a pillow. She dumped them in front of me, exposing he nightgown. And let me tell you. You wouldn't see this on Disney Channel. _

"_Goodnight," she said, turning away to walk upstairs. I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her down into my lap. There is no WAY she is going to dress up in that and just leave._

"_Calleigh, what are you wearing?," I whispered in her ear._

"_A bracelet on my wrist. Now let me go," she replied trying to get up, but failing because of my arm around my waist. Her struggling was not helping me control my urges at all right now._

"_Funny. You know what I mean."_

"_Nope, I have no idea. Now move your arm." _

"_No."_

"_Yes."_

"_Not until you forgive me."_

"_Not happening. Move."_

_I loosened up my arm and she stood up. The only reason I even moved my arm was because her constant rubbing against my groin was making me want her even more."Have a nice night, Eric," said leaving me alone (and aroused) on the couch. Oh tonight was going to be very painful. Time for a cold shower. _

Nope I am definitely not going to work. My boss gave me as much time I needed to take care of Calleigh because that's the type of man he is.

So today I'm going to stay with Calleigh. Just us. No drama. Just Calleigh and I making up for lost time. I threw on a pair of khakis and a button down shirt before heading downstairs to drop Gabriella to school.

_AT THE SCHOOL!_

"Come on Princesa! Let's go!," I said, lifting her out of the car and swinging her around. She giggled,"Daddy!" I laughed and stopped swinging her. I probably shouldn't have done that, because her giggles caused all the moms in the parking lot to look at me and smile. A few of them eyed me seductively like I was the pool boy they secretly dream about, which creeps me out a bit. But for the most part, I ignore it. I get in, then get out. No eye contact.

I carried Gabriella to the entrance of the school to drop her off. A few moms greeted me on the way, but I focused my attention on Gabriella and pretended not to notice. So what if it's rude? I'm a married man! Not a piece of bacon! I get in, then get out. I made it through the entire hallway successfully, and opened the door to Gabriella's classroom.

" Good Morning, Mr. Delko! Hi, Gabriella!," Gabriella's teacher, Ms. Robin, greeted us. I never understood how this woman could work among such crazy children and still be smiling every day.

"Hi, Ms. Robin," Gabriella replied.

" Bye, Princesa." I kissed her cheek and put her down. She ran off towards the trains where a group of boys welcomed her cheerfully. Whoa. That was a bit too cheerfully. I'm going to have to start monitoring her and boys already? Man, I thought I had a good couple of years left. Shoot.

"So, Mr. Delko. I heard about Mrs. Delko. Is she alright?"

"Yes, she's recovering just fine. Thank you for asking."

"No problem. Send her my regards okay?"

"Of course."

"And also one more thing. I never got the chance to discuss this with you, but our whole class is performing a musical on healthy foods sometime next month. We had auditions 2 weeks ago and Gabriella's the lead vegetable. Did you know she has an amazing singing voice?"

What? My daughter...the next little TV star! "No, I had no idea."

"Well yeah. She has such a pure, clear sound. It's great. Plus she never has stage fright!"

"Wow. I can't wait to hear her then."

"Yep the musical is....i believe the 25th or the 26th next month. I'm not sure but letters will be going home this afternoon."

"Okay good. Thank you."

"Have a nice day!"

"You, too." I called out as I walked out into the hallway. This time I had to reply to all the mothers because I had no excuse. This is mainly how the conversations went down:

_Mom: Good morning, Mr. Delko. How are you toda_y? _Will I see you at the committee meeting tonight?_

_Me: Oh no. I don't think I can make this is one. But I promise I'll try to come to the next one._

_Mom: Alright then. See you around, Mr. Delko._

Or like this:

_Mom: Hi, Eric. Can I call you Eric?_

_Me: Ah, sure. Yeah._

_Mom: Good. There is going to be a bake sale this weekend.........and I would like to know...if you can attend. We could really use an extra set of....hands, you know._

_Me: Oh no. I have to take Gabriella somewhere. Maybe I'll try to go to the next one._

_Mom: Fine. But let me know if you change your mind, okay? (wink) _

Or the occasional..:

_Dad: Uh, (glances at wife) the guys are meeting up on Sunday to watch a game.(glances at wife) We were wondering if you-er-would like to come.(wife smiles)_

_Me: I'll have to skip this one. I have to run some errands. Maybe next time._

_Dad: Sure no sweat.(wife glares evilly at husband, believing that it's his fault)_

What ever way you look at it, these moms harass me. I don't care what you say. By the time I reached my car, I had gotten so many creepy looks it wasn't even funny. But what could I do? At least I _tried_ to get in then get out. Oh well. I got in my car and head towards the hospital.

_AT THE HOSPITAL!_

"Hey, Cal!"

"Hi." She had her eyes closed and she was slightly pink.

"Are you alright? Let me call the nurse for you." Her eyes opened and she coughed.

"No! That nurse hates me because I wont eat. I have been avoiding her all day by pretending to be asleep." She froze, as if she said something she wasn't supposed to.

"Why aren't you eating? You remember everything, right?"

"Yeah...I just feel SO weird, you know? This room just feels so stuffy, I keep coughing, my chest and throat are killing me, and I feel so nauseous. Ugh!" She began coughing and didn't stop for awhile.

I took her hand. "Calm down. I'm going to get the nurse. You still need to eat, though."

"Everything they give to me is just going to make me want to puke."

"Baby come on. You can't have me constantly worrying about you. Just at least try to eat the pudding."

"Eric, I hate you."

"No, you love me. Now I'm going to call the nurse to check up on your temperature. Just to be sure."

She groaned and I pressed the 'call' button. A couple minutes later, Lauren walked in the room, focused on a file in her hands.

"Hello, Mrs.-," she looked up and glanced at me before turning towards Calleigh. "Uh, Mrs. Delko. What seems to be the problem?"

I cleared my throat and she looked at me, with an annoyed expression on her face. "She has, ah, sore throat and chest, doesn't want to eat, and she says the room feels stuffy."

"The air feels so thick. It's kinda hard to breathe," Calleigh added before she began to cough.

"Did you get any vaccines against bacteria? Removal of the spleen is can be extremely harmful because your spleen fights infections. SO if you haven't gotten any vaccines, you might be exposed to pneumonia," Lauren said, checking over that file again.

"I haven't gotten them yet. I wasn't scheduled for the vaccines until tomorrow. My vaccines were," she coughed,"re-scheduled because they," she coughed,"had used them all up."

"Okay, well I'm going to need you to sit up for me. Can you do that?"

She coughed,"Yeah, I guess." She struggled to sit up, so I rushed over to help her. Lauren reached her at the same time and she elbowed me (unnecessarily) to get me out of the way. I don't know what her problem is, but I have t remember to ask her about it later. Lauren is way more fun when she isn't out to get me.

"OK," she said, taking off her stethoscope," let's check out your lungs. She plugged the ear pieces in her ears and pressed the stethoscope to Calleigh's chest. She listened for a moment with her eyes narrowed. Damn. When you look at Calleigh sitting up like this, she looks very weak. Very weak and frail. She looks so tired, yet so beautiful. Lauren removed the stethoscope and stood up.

"Well, I hear crackling in you chest, plus some abnormal breathing noises; possible signs of pneumonia. I'm going to get you a chest x-ray just to be sure."

"Oh," Calleigh said laying back down. "If I do have pneumonia, am I going on antibiotics?"

"Yes, if the cause is bacterial. The cause can also be viral but it is difficult to tell whether it's bacterial or viral. So you'll probably just receive antibiotics anyway."

"Uh, okay."

"I'll be back in a minute," she said, before heading towards the door. "Actually, may I speak to you in the hallway, Mr. Delko? This will only take a minute."

Calleigh eyes me questioningly. "Sure," I agreed. I followed her out into the hallway. "What's this about?," I asked her.

"Jen. I heard what happened. I'm not going to yell at you and get you in trouble with the wife, because I'm assuming she knows about it, but I'm going to be an annoying ass and say that you should leave her the hell alone. Never talk to her again. She really liked you and if you ever upset her again, so help me God, I will kill you. Take that as a threat."

"Okay. I'll leave her alone. But tell her I'm really sorry."

"No. I'm not going to mention you unless she asks about you."

"Fine. Fair enough. Am I free to go?"

"Yeah. I'll have the x-ray set up in a moment."

"Thanks."

"It's my job." And with that she pushed past me and walked down the hallway. I wish these walls weren't made out of glass. I can almost feel the questions from Calleigh. I went into the room and, as predicted, the questions were fired.

"So, what was that about?," she coughed.

"Nothing. Just some facts and risks with pneumonia."

"How come she couldn't just tell you in here?"

"I don't know. She probably didn't want you to worry. Look, all I care about is you right now." I tried to take her hand but she pulled it away and narrowed her eyes.

"Why are you," she coughed," lying?"

"I'm not-"

"You always change the subject when you're lying to me."

Crap. She's good. I sighed,"Alright. That nurse, Lauren, is Jen's friend. The woman that I..ah..."

"I get it. But," she coughed,"why do you keep trying to hide these things from me? I need to know. I know that I said that I'm not mad at you, Eric, but right now, you are losing my trust. I just," she coughed,"want to able to talk to you and know that everything you say to me isn't a complete lie."

"Baby, I know. I won't lie to you or keep secrets from you. I just don't want to involve you in all this drama. It's not exactly something to be proud of."

"I don't care. I tell you everything because that what married people do!"

"No, you don't. You don't tell me all about you and Jake." Whoops that one slipped. Well, she really hasn't explained to me what her deal with him is.

She rolled her eyes. You know, I've never seen her this irritated before. "What are you even talking about? We're just friends."

"Nothing. Just forget it."

"No! Just say what you have to say. I'm tired of you keeping things from me!"

I couldn't help it. "Well, you always seem to have some secret connection with him, and I know that you still have feelings for him like he does for you. I'm tired of watching him look at you from across the room when he doesn't think I'm watching. And I'm tired of you getting up early to meet him for "coffee" or "breakfast" when you told me you were done with him. What the hell is that? Are you screwing around with him? Is that why you were so understanding when I told you about Jen?" Oh no. All that just slipped out. Why can't I ever just shut the hell up? She just sat there staring at me, her head cocked to one side, and her eyes showing how pissed she was.

She coughed. " Wow. That's how you feel. Maybe," she coughed,"....a divorce _is_ the best option because you honestly don't trust me, do you?"

"I-I do. Just not him,"I said softly.

"No you don't. It's fine. I guess we're just not as in love as we thought we were."

I didn't know what to say to her. I loved her but....did she love me? Was she right? I didn't know.


	7. Chapter 7

Why? Why? Why can't I ever say the right things, do the right things, or be the right one for her? I always have to upset her to comfort my insecurities.

She's just too perfect. It's hard _not _to worry and be jealous when every man wants her just as much as I do. She's beautiful, intelligent, and can shoot a gun better than anyone can. Plus, she can melt your heart and light up the room with her smile alone. What's not to love?

I didn't even mean what I said to her. There is no way that Calleigh would cheat. It's not her. I just wouldn't shut the hell up. But anyone with a quarter of a brain could tell that he still liked her. I mean, how obvious can you get? I remember the day when she was 5 months pregnant and he gave her a foot massage in the break room. Just take a moment to think of wrong that is. All I have to say is that he was lucky I wasn't there to beat the crap out of him. But then again, Calleigh would have never let me do that.

*Sigh*. It's just her.

She isn't cold like that and she's always looking out for everyone. Her compassion is one of the many things I love about her. I buried my head in my hands. I am so stupid.

I was sitting in my car, outside of the hospital, trying to decide what to do. She had thrown me out of her room but I still was at the hospital. I was never good at making decisions and making decisions that could potentially bring Calleigh even farther away from me made me extremely nervous. I checked my watch. 11:14. Great. I had just blown an hour doing nothing and feeling like a bum. But I just didn't know what to do anymore. I tried apologizing, telling her I was just rambling and that I really didn't mean it, but she had her mind set on getting me away from her. I rested my head on the steering wheel and sighed.

_I opened the door and saw Calleigh chasing Gabriella with a spoon. "Gabriella! Can you please slow down? Mommy can't keep up with you like this! You need to take your medicine!," she yelled, out of breath. _

_Gabriella sped up. "No med'cine! I don' wan' it," she called back, crying._

_Calleigh slowed down and mumbled 'crap' underneath her breath. She turned around, smiling sadly at me. "I give up. Remind me why I married a man who loved me enough to give up his job so he now has to work late hours, and had a stubborn baby girl who gives me a headache."_

_I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her waist. "Because," I said kissing her temple,"We love each other. Well at least I love you. I don't know how you're holding up your end of the bargain."_

_She smiled and hit my chest. "I love you, too. But I still don't know what to do about Gabriella. She's been crying and coughing and running and screaming and breaking things and hitting and pushing and shoving and crying and running and coughing and-" _

_I cut her off gently. "Let me handle it. You go rest."_

"_But she's still sick and I need to give her dinner and I need to give her a bath and I need to get her ready for bed and she's going to give me a hard time and I'm going to be struggling and I have to clean up after her when she goes to bed and then I have to eat and take a shower then-"_

"_Okay okay okay okay. I get it. But let me get her under control for you while you start dinner, okay?" _

"_Mm...okay. But make sure she takes the medicine, and her food is in the fridge on the second shelf to the right. No left. No wait, right. No, it could be the left...."_

_I shot her a look. "I took care of her for 3 years, too."_

"_I know, sorry. Thank you for helping me out though."_

"_No problem," I said taking her hands,"Let me know if you need anything else, okay?"_

"_Alright." She left me to go into the kitchen._

_I turned to the direction where Gabriella had disappeared. "Angel, come out here! Daddy want's to talk to you." She didn't respond but I heard a soft cough coming from the hallway. "Come on, you haven't even said hello to me yet and my feelings are hurt." I didn't hear anything for awhile and I honestly couldn't find her. But then she sneezed, exposing her hiding spot in the closet. I walked over to the closet door and opened it softly. Gabriella was sitting with her knees up to her chest, looking up at me with a runny nose._

"_Hi Daddy. Mommy is trying to give me med'cine. Quick, hide in here! Is she's comin'?"_

"_I don't think so. Come," I said offering my hand to her. She stood up and sniffled. _

"_Are you going to let Mommy give me the med'cine?"_

"_Yes,"I said, causing her to groan,"I want you to feel better."_

"_Aw man."_

_I went into the bathroom and cleaned her nose and hands. "Are you ready to eat?," I asked her, lifting her up into my arms. She never got to answer because a piercing shriek came from the kitchen. I ran out into the kitchen and saw Calleigh on the floor, her leg covered with boiling hot water ...no scratch that... hot oil.. and unconscious."Oh my god..." I buried Gabriella's face into my neck. She did not have to see that. I reached for the phone and called an ambulance. Damn...._

That was one of the scariest moments I had ever faced. She had spilled the oil before it was hot but forgot to clean it up and slipped on it again when she was holding the pot of the hot oil. She burned up her leg pretty badly and and her dad paid for cosmetic surgery to return it to a neater state. I always thought her scars from the surgery were beautiful but she never listened to me. I always would kiss her scars for her when she complained about them to show her how much she scared me when she just dropped like that and how little I cared about the marks it left because I still thought she was beautiful. I honestly, to this moment, still can picture the disturbing way she looked on that floor.

3ECECECEC3

"_Hi Eric," she said, as she answered my call,"where are you?"_

"_In traffic, sweetheart, but I'll be home soon. Do you want me to get anything on my way home? I'm heading over to the pharmacy to get your medication so if you need anything let me know."_

"_Nah, I'm going to take the car around the corner to get some gas and some pizza so I'll get what I need there while I'm out."_

"_Cal, what did I tell you about driving? It scares me when you drive alone."_

"_This time, you aren't close enough to stop me so I'm going," she said. I could hear the bed creaking under her weight as she got up. I heard a small squeak and a gasp. "Eric," she whispered, "she's coming!"_

"_What? Who? We're having guests?"_

"_The BABY! My water just broke, but I don't exactly think this is going right."_

"_Holy CRAP! You are 5 weeks early! What's going on?"_

"_There's blood, there-there's a lot of blood on the floor."_

"_What the hell does that mean?"_

"_I don't know! But I'm really freaked. Where are you?"_

"_Just calm down and breathe. I uh.... I won't get there in time to get you to a hospital, baby. You're going to have to call the doctor and tell him your water broke and that there is blood in it. Then call me and let me know what he says."_

"_No, I don't want to stop talking to you. I feel so strange with this stuff running down my legs, plus my stomach is beginning to hurt, and your voice makes it feel so much better."_

"_Baby, please. Blood is not a good sign, so get the doctor on the phone please. I don't want you or the baby in trouble."_

"_Oh alright. But I just want you to know that I am scared, I love you, and I'm hungry. Bye."_

"_Bye, sweetheart. And call me back."_

"_Okay," she whispered as she hung up._

_I tried to focus on beating this traffic, but all I could picture was Calleigh panicking over this and I'm not there to comfort her. I had even saved up my vacation time and taken off the the last three weeks of her pregnancy from work just so that I could always be with her. I had tried to make it so that I wouldn't ever leave her to face this alone. But she's strong and I believe that she can do it. Even though I feel like a total failure right now. My thoughts were interrupted by my cell phone ringing. I quickly grabbed it and flipped it open._

"_Hello? Calleigh, what's the news?"_

"_The doctor is coming over in a bus (**a.k.a an ambulance**) soon. He says that I am...ooh...OOH...ah! Oh my god, this hurts really badly now, really really badly. He says that I might..ooh..that I might deliver the baby in an hour or less. I'll be at JMH."_

_JMH. JMH. Jackson Memorial Hospital. Okay. "Alright, baby, now I'll stay on the line with you until you need to go, okay. Just relax and breathe? Remember like we practiced? Just breathe. In and out. In and out."_

"_In and... oh! Eric, they're here. The doctor is here," she said to me. "Hi, Doc.....what?....no I just feel a lot of pain....HOW LONG?....I can't wait that long....fine." I heard a lot of rustling around on the other end for a bit, then finally the sirens. "Babe, we're on our way to the hospital and Dr. P says I lost a lot of blood so I might go unconscious for a bit," she whispered,"and that I'm not ready to deliver yet." _

"_Alright. Traffics clearing up so I should be at the hospital within half an hour."_

"_Yay!..AH!," she yelled. Then she started to softly sing off key. "Stop! In the name of love! Before you break my heart..."_

"_Calleigh?"_

"_Cel-ebrate good times! Come on!..."_

"_Honey?"_

"_You can feel it! It's electric! Boogie, boogie, boogie!...."_

"_Sweetheart?" I was fighting back a laugh._

"_Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Staying alive! Staying alive! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Staying Aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!..."_

_Then the Doc cut in. "You singing is very lovely but we're at the hospital now and I'm going to need all your energy!"_

"_Oh. Yeah. Right. Eric where are you?"_

"_Baby, I just told you. Just give me 20 minutes."_

"_Oh I know. I just wanted to hear you say it again. It makes me feel better."_

"_How?"_

"_Oh you know how.....And if you don't, think about why I'm here in the first place."_

_What is she talking.....oh wait a minute... "Woman....calm yourself down. Just relax.. I have to go now but I'll be there soon. Bye!"_

"_Bye, babe." She clicked off the line. _

_**-At the hospital-**_

"_Calleigh?" _

"_Eric, you got here just in time because this baby is comiiiiiiing!"_

"_Hold on, Cal, hold on. Wait for the doctor to come back."_

"_NO! Right NOOOOW!"_

_The Dr. came running in. "She's ready? She's is way too early but we're going to have to do this now."_

_The next few minutes were chaos. Cal was screaming and me and the doc were yelling for her to push. Man, I was still trying to figure out how she even got the baby out of there, but she did. I cut the umbilical chord and held my little girl in my arms. I was so afraid of dropping her, it wasn't even funny. But she was so beautiful. I gave her to Calleigh and she held her for only a moment before she collapsed and began to flat-line. _

"_Yo, Doc, What's going on?"_

"_I'm not sure... Oh no," he held up her arm. Somehow, the needle had slipped out earlier. "She's lost too much blood. When we get her stabilized, she's going to need a blood transfusion. Or she'll die."_

_THESE next few minutes were just plain torture. The nurses took my little angel away to clean her up and run some tests, and Calleigh was being shocked back to life. I could barely look at her, yet I couldn't take my eyes away. Finally, her eyes popped open and heart jump started again. _

"_Her name is Gabriella," she said to herself, as she stared at the ceiling. "Gabriella Nicole.....Delko."_

Another one of the scariest times of my life. I honestly thought I was going to lose them both. I watch way too much TV.

Just thinking about those times just made me realize how much we've been through. Hell to the no. I will not let 4 years of marriage go to waste over something that stupid. I am going back up to her room to tell her that right now. After I buy a sandwich at the deli.

_IN CALLIEIGH'S ROOM _

She rolled her eyes as I walked in. "Eric, what are you doing back here? I thought I made it clear that I didn't want to-"

"I know. But hear me out."

"I already did here you out. You made your opinion _very clear_ last time."

"I already told you that I didn't mean what I said. So hear me out."

She put down the book she was reading. "Alright."

I sat down in the chair beside her and stared at a little crack in the wall across from me. "You know that this is crazy. We got married to each other knowing that there would be times like this. Times where we would mess up, get mad, fight, scream, and even yell. But at the end of the day, whether we like it or not, there is always that one thing that draws us back together."

She sighed. "I know. But there has never been one time when you couldn't hold back your anger or your protectiveness or your jealousy. And I don't always need you to step up and control me. I took care of myself for many years before I met you, you know.

"Cal," I began, taking her hands,"do you really want to know why I do the things I do?"

"It would be nice..."

"Well....I'm afraid. I am afraid of losing you. Let's be honest here. How many guys do you think want you right now?"

"I don't know. Maybe a couple?"

"Not even close. If we go out anywhere, the only men who don't look at you are either gay or blind. And that can be so disturbing when I'm with you."

"See? That's probably not even true. You always think that guys are staring at me when they are NOT. "

"Oh come on. They practically have sex with you in their minds."

"No they don't!"

"Uh, Cal, they so do."

"Oh reeeeally? Give me an example."

"Okay...AH! Here's one. Remember when I had broken my arm a few years back after I fell off that ladder fixing the roof?"

"Yeah, that was funny."

"What? That hurt!"

"I know. I'm just kidding."

"Cruelness...Anyway, When I went to the hospital, I got this male bone doctor. Now since you were sweating and wearing a damn tank-top, this doctor was checking you out like mad. And you didn't even notice. If you had, you would have never been saying things like 'It is so hot' or 'I need some water' or 'I wish I could take an ice cold shower'."

"Oh my god!," she laughed,"That guy was so creepy! I had no idea!"

I laughed with her. "Well I noticed!"

"Well what about you? How many women do you think check you out?

"Besides from old women and the mothers at Gabriella's school, none."

"Oh please!"

"What? It's true!"

"No! Remember after I had the baby and I wanted to lose the weight I gained? You noticed I kept complaining so you took me to the gym after work 3 times a week."

"Yeah and..."

"When we would lift weights and stuff, you felt it was necessary to take of your shirt. Now, you didn't need to work out because you did that every day. So you already had toned abs and everything. You were all pumped and exercising all sexy and what not like it was some kind of commercial. Which made every woman drool over you."

"PSH! What? That's a lie!"

"Nope."

"Oh man. Well what about the time when we went skiing and I got sick so you went on the slopes by yourself and when you came back you had a new friend who tried to ask you out since he thought I wasn't your boyfriend?"

"Okay, I admit, I had that one coming."

"Yes you did," I said laughing

"How about the time when you gave diving lessons that summer? You had the longest line of customers your boss had ever seen."

"It was because I was a good diver!"

"No it wasn't! The line was full of ladies who thought you were cute!"

"Oh it was? I thought I was just getting lucky."

"Eric, they were having sex with you in their minds."

"I doubt it."

"Well, how many of them pretended they couldn't swim so that you would hold them?"

"A lot?"

"How many left when I kissed you after I brought you lunch?"

"A lot...."

"Exactly."

"Wow."

"Yes. I get jealous, too, you know."

"What? Why?"

"Unless you are blind, you must notice how many beautiful, skinny, young, tanned, blue-eyed blondes, and brown-eyed brunettes stare at you whenever we go anywhere."

"Well I prefer beautiful, curvy, green-eyed blondes."

"Oh okay. Then that would narrow it down to about, I don't know, 30% of the women."

"Really? Are those women southern, can cook, have an outgoing personality, and gave birth to my only daughter?"

"No," she said smiling.

"Okay then. So you shouldn't be jealous."

"Then neither should you."

"But, Cal..."

"No buts."

"You don't have any competition. You're perfect. Yet I have my flaws."

"What flaws? I think you are just fine."

"Cal, you and I both know that one day, you will find a man that is way more kind, sensitive, and better for you and Gabriella than I am."

"What? You're an idiot. If there was a guy any kinder than you, I would think he had an ulterior motive. And if there was any guy any more sensitive to my needs I would probably think he was gay. And if there was any other man better for Gabriella than you are, _he_ would have been her father. But there is no one else. So shut up and kiss me before I have to slap some sense into you."

I leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. When I pulled away, I smiled at her.

"So am I forgiven?,"I asked.

"I'll have to think about that one....."

"What? Why?"

"I need you to do something that will make you extremely unhappy."

"Well what is it?"

"You are going to apologize to Jake. You need to make peace with him so that you don't say things like that anymore."

"Make peace? Men don't make peace! We hold grudges! Until one of us is critically injured in a bar fight! Then we just avoid each other forever!"

"Oh come on, please? Jake already agreed to do it for me! Why don't you?"

I took a deep breath. I wanted to say: Tell him to take that and shove it up his ass before I do it for him because there is no way in hell that I am going to 'make peace' with him! But like every good husband should, I sucked it up and said,"Fine, sweetheart. If you want me to do it, I'll do it."

She smiled so wide and sat to kiss me on the cheek. "You are the best!" She coughed. "Whoops. I was told to remain calm or I might start coughing again."

"Alright, well, I think you need some rest."

"I agree."

"Take a nap, okay? I'll just sick around and wait for Jake to come so that I can get on good terms with him."

"Good,"she said, closing her eyes.

"But only for you," I whispered as she drifted off to sleep,"only for you."


	8. Chapter 8

I sat around for hours just watching her chest rise and fall. Rise and fall. There was that occasionally cough, but for the most part she was peaceful. I also spent those hours thinking about how I was supposed to make a truce with Wolverine. I mean, how are you supposed to act nice to someone you despise with all your being? You aren't. But when Calleigh asks you to do something, it's hard not to say yes.

Around 5, H, Natalia, Ryan, Jesse, Walter, and...Wolverine all came to visit. Damn. I'm going to have to do this now. Something in his eyes told me he already knew what I was going to say to him.

"Hey guys. Calleigh's asleep but she'll be up soon."

They all nodded and began talking to each other, so I walked over to Jake and motioned for him to follow me to the other side of the small waiting room. When we got there, he leaned against the wall all cool and nonchalant, while I stood nervously with my arms crossed. Jerk.

"Alright man. I know you and I have to make peace for Cal,"he began. Did he just use my nickname for her? Hell no. Strike one.

"Yeah I know. But let's just make one thing clear. Calleigh is my wife. Not your girlfriend. Whatever connection you have with her is done. Over. Finished."

He chuckled that annoying chuckle that he always chuckles. That 'eh he he' thing. "I don't think that's possible, mi amigo. We have a special connection."

A connection? A _special_ connection? Double hell no. Strike numero dos. "What connection? Last I heard, she was done with you."

"She may not be with me anymore, but I know I still have a special place in her heart that only we cherish."

Special place? In her heart? Oh hell to the no! There is no way this comic book character is going to leave this conversation with that idea still in his head. Strike three! "What the hell are you even talking about man? There is nothing more between you two!"

"Look, just because I have your wife's virginity, doesn't give you the right to try and push me out of her life. She still remembers. I still remember. It's something you just don't forget."

I stood there looking dumber than ever. He. Has. Her. Virginity. FUCK! She gave up her virginity to _him_? NOOOO! But no matter what I try to do about it, I couldn't get the thought out of my mind. I couldn't. He had been her first. I was perfectly fine with the idea of some random stranger I had no connection to being her first, but this dude? Come on! This sucks! Strike fifty-two. "Man, are you serious?"

"Yeah, why would I lie?"

"Look. I am in no way happy about this, but you have to let it go. Let it go. There is no way she even still cares about that!"

"Oh she does. She remembers. Why don't you ask her?" And with that he walked off with a smug look on his face. Before he walked a couple of yards, he turned around and said,"Oh yeah. Truce".

He is so lucky-so damn lucky- that I had to pick up Gabriella from school. But I was going to have to have a word with her as soon as I got back.

_AT THE PLACE FULL OF CREEPY WOMEN/SCHOOL_

I COULDN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT IT! He was the one who got to have her first. The amount of resentment I felt towards him was at an all time high. It makes me sick just thinking about it. OH! I'm mad! Even as I went into the afternoon center, I still couldn't stop playing my mental videos of them having sex over and over again in my mind. Ugh! It's even nastier when you add the sound effects! *Gag*...Oh my god...

"Mr. Delko?," a soft voice beside me asked. I turned a little and saw Gabriella's school nurse. She was a small, blue-eyed, brunette woman. Probably no older than twenty five.

"Hi, Ms...White, is it?"

"Yes, hi, Mr. Delko," she said adjusting her glasses

"You can just call me Eric."

"Okay... Eric. As you know, Gabriella was sick on Friday. Now she's sick again. She fainted around 3 or 3:10 this afternoon so we took her to a hospital. We tried to reach you but neither you nor Mrs. Delko were available. I'm sorry if this is inconvenient for you.

Oh crap. My angel fainted? I ran a nervous hand through my hair."She's my daughter. It's never inconvenient for me." She smiled at that. "But is she going to be alright?"

"She should be fine. I stayed with her for an hour and a half before her teacher decided to switch places with me so that I could come back here to bring you there. She had woken up by 3:15 or something like that."

"Oh...Well I'll go get her then. Where is she?"

"She's at Jefferson Medical Center. One of us always has to be with her and one of us with you to prove that you are her father. It's a whole legal thing."

"Oh okay. That's good because I have no idea where that is. You could drive with me and I'll drop you back here?"

"Sounds good. Let's go."

With that. We head out into the parking lot, and for some strange reason, the moms looked mad at me today.

_IN THE HOSPITAL PARKING LOT!_

"Oh my god! Eric, you did some crazy things! I can't believe you went skinny dipping in New York in the winter!," she said, doubled over with laughter.

"Well, when I was trying to impress that girl, I did some crazy things, man. And the worst part was, she didn't even go for me. She went for my dad,"I said, getting out of the car. I walked around to the other side and opened her door for her.

"Ouch! That must have hurt. Weren't you angry?,"she asked getting out of the car.

"Yes! But I was more heartbroken then anything. She was the first girl I loved."

We walked to the entrance of the hospital. "Aw, poor Eric. Well at least you found Calleigh."

"Yeah," I said opening the door. _But apparently, she loved Jake more._

Ms. White, or as she told me to call her, Abby, proved I was Gabriella's father and got us access to her room in the pediatrics center.

"So," I said as we stepped into the elevator,"it's your turn to tell a story." We had gotten this game started up on the way to the hospital when we got stuck in traffic. We each would tell a story and the most horrifying one wins.

"Okay. One time, I took care of this sick kid with the stomach virus. Just as his parents came, he threw up on my dress and legs. Then, since his dad had a weak stomach, he threw up all over my floor. And this was the one day the janitor had taken off, so guess who ended up scraping their stomach contents off the floor while the little boy threw up in the toilet?"

"Alright _I _just threw up a bit in my mouth. That wins hands down. I have nothing to top that. I bet the smell was horrible,"I said stepping out on the 12th floor.

"Horrible is an understatement. I scrubbed the floor ever night for a week plus I kept all my windows open and sacrificed A/C just to be able to breathe in my room."

"Oh god."

"Yeah."

We reached her room and when we peered in, she was sitting on her bed, wide awake talking to the nurse while her teacher was asleep on the chair.

Gabriella:"When can I go home to my mommy and daddy?"

Nurse:"Soon, honey. I bet your mommy or daddy will be here soon."

Gabriella:"Aw...I'm scared."

Nurse:"Why?"

Gabriella:"Let's be honest here. It's creepy."

The nurse laughed."Okay."

I knocked on the door lightly. "May I come in, angel?"

"Daddy!"

"Hi, sweetheart. How are you feeling?"

"All better. But look at my arm! I got a cool glove!" She held up her wrist which had a purple cast on it. The nurse whispered,"She broke it when she fell."

"Oh, you did? Wow... Be careful, okay? I don't want you being rough with it."

"Okay. Can we go now?"

"Just give me one moment to make sure that you're fine and then we can go."

"M 'kay."

I walked over to the nurse. "What caused her to faint?"

"She must have been playing too hard in the heat. She took longer than most people to wake up, but we aren't sure why. If she faints again, bring her back and we'll check her out."

"Got it."

"Good,"she said leaving the room.

"Alright, princesa. Ready to go?"

"Yeah!" She leaped down from her bad a bit too quickly and stumbled a bit before she hit the ground. "Wow I feel weird."

"Oh, you do? Well I'm going to carry you down to the car just in case." I said picking her up.

She buried her head in my neck and sighed. "You smell good, Daddy. Like pillows."

I laughed. "Thank you, angel. You smell good, too. Like Mommy." I shot Abby a look and shrugged as she held back a laugh.

We head back downstairs and Abby signed all the necessary forms to get her out. Before we knew it, we were on our way back to the school.

"You know we didn't wake up her teacher, right?,"I asked.

"Yup. But, she fell asleep leaving Gabriella unsupervised so she should wake up worried. She's lucky some creep didn't come and abduct her."

I laughed and we sat in silence for a little while before Abby broke it.

"Eric, I never got the chance to ask you this, but how's Mrs. Delko?" Ugh. I forgot I was supposed to talk to her about that whole sex thing. My face must have given me away because a concerned look appeared on her face. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing. Calleigh's fine."

"I have barely known you for a couple of hours and I know you're lying. What's going on? I don't mean to pry, but I consider you a friend, and as a friend, it's my job to make you happy."

I smiled sadly and turned around to check on Gabriella. She was asleep so I decided to tell her. "Oh...It's just some things I have to work out with Calleigh. Our marriage is kind of rocky right now."

"Oh, I see. How bad?"

"Well, I just found out that the man that I despise the most was the first guy she slept with," I admitted sadly.

She bit her lip. Oh I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you upset! See? Curiosity killed the cat. I need to shut up."

I smiled. "It's not you; It felt good to tell someone anyway."

"Mm. Well I just hope you guys work it out. You are so cute together. I love seeing you two together at school functions, except for when those home wrecking moms come and try to ruin it."

"THANK you! That's what I always say!"

"They make it so obvious! They stare at you like you're one those chocolate cupcakes they are dying to eat."

"Seriously! They always come up to me and beg me to go to all the events at the school! Were you there when I volunteered for the weekend community carnival?"

"Uh, I was there but that was when Gabriella was new so if I saw you, I wouldn't remember."

"Oh, well, you know how the stations are randomly selected and you have to go with what you get? No exceptions?"

"M hmm."

"Well, get this; I was "randomly selected",along with the head mom on the committee, to man the kissing booth for both of the days. Calleigh was so mad. She got the dunking tank one day and the balloon and dart for the next day."

"Oh my god? That was you who caused the long line?"

"Yes! It was crazy! I felt like my lips were swollen by the end of the day. Plus my lips were a permanent shade of red!"

She burst out laughing. "Oh...oh...oh...m...my...g...god! You...are insane!"

I laughed with her. "I know! But they're worse."

We continued to talk about things until we reached the school. With the amount of traffic that there was, we arrived at 8 o'clock. We had learned so much about each other by then. I learned about her three older brothers and her parents plus about her likes and dislikes. We learned that we both like cake especially if it has filling and both hate when people put the sauce on the spaghetti instead of mixing it in. We were suddenly best friends who couldn't even stop talking when we got to the school.

"Okay Okay, so what you're saying is that I shouldn't take this too seriously?"

"Yes. You know her enough to know that she isn't interested in him! He's an old flame! She must have ended it with him for a reason."

"Yeah you're right but-"

"But nothing! He's just trying to wind you up. If you give in, you'll just end up creating a large mess. Just let it be."

"Aw, man! Why? I want to beat him up in an alley!"

"Okay, why do you have such a problem with this? You guys have been together forever and I bet that the thought of killing her first one didn't even cross your mind until you found out that it was Jake. Plus you know that they must have had sex more that once."

"Oh god. I don't even want to think about that. But knowing that she trusted him enough to do that with him makes me just wonder how she really feels about him still. They may be broken up, but she still considers him a friend and doesn't even want me to say a rude thing about him, even if he deserves it."

"I know. And if you still feel like that when you go and talk to her tonight, ask her about it. Talk to her about it. Tell her how you feel. You tell everyone else but her and secrets aren't good for a relationship."

"Remind me why you aren't a therapist again?"

"I prefer actually physically helping children. It makes me smile when I see them stop crying after I put that little cartoon band-aid on."

I shook my head and smiled. "I should have guessed. But I have to get out of here. So I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye!," she said running off to her car," tell Gabriella I said to feel better and keep a close eye on her tonight in case she faints again!"

"Okay! Thanks!" I waited until she drove off to get into my car to drive home to give Gabriella dinner.

_AN HOUR LATER AT THE HOSPITAL!_

I stepped out of the elevator with Gabriella holding on to my hand. Everyone from the lab was still there except Jake. HA! As soon as she spotted everyone she let go of my hand and ran over to them. They all looked at me questioningly when they saw the cast. "She fainted and broke her arm during the fall," I explained. "So be careful with her." I heard a chorus of gasps and 'oh no's. They all turned their attention away from me and onto her and started fussing over her. What a lucky little girl. Since I no longer held their attention, I heard over to Calleigh's room.

"Jake! You can't just take my candy! They're not for eating like that! They're cough-drops!," I heard Calleigh laugh as I opened the door. She didn't even notice I came in. She was out of her bed, in a wheelchair, sitting at a little table, eating her dinner. How come she wouldn't eat for me? I softly sighed. Disney is a big, obese lie. Dreams never come true.

"Hey, Cal." I started.

She gasped and turned around in her wheelchair. "Oh hi, Eric. You scared me!" Jake was giving me this look that said 'well look at you, ruining my fun'. If only I wasn't in a public area. If only.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to. How come your out of your bed?"

"Ugh. I just needed a change. Jake begged the nurse to get me a chair. When she agreed, she even let me go outside to watch the sunset. Oh! I have great news! I'll be going home soon!"

"What? That's great! When?"

"In like 3 days! I'm so happy! I've missed home so much!"

"Oh wow, sweetheart. I can't wait." I honestly was excited but I still had to talk to her about the...thing...Jake told me about.

Jake cleared his throat and stood up. "I've got to head home. I work Cal's shift at work now which means I have to get up early."

"Oh you don't have to do that. I'd feel much better if I knew you weren't doing both your job and mine."

"Eh, it's no problem. I want you to get the extra money anyway."

"What? So you're not even going to collect the money?,"she asked.

"Nah. I don't need it."

"No! If you're going to work the shift, at least take the pay."

"Cal, I'm doing this for you. So no I'm going to do it whether you want me to or not."

She smiled. "Thank you so much. You are the best."

"No problem. I'll see you later. Bye, Cal." He smiled that dumbass smile before leaving the room. I hate him. A lot. Calleigh's eyes followed him out the room until he shut then door. Then she turned to me.

"So,"she said,"what's up?"

"So much. Gabriella fainted in school and broke her arm, I'm now friends with the school nurse, and I kind of have to talk to you about something."

"Oh no! She broke her arm? Poor baby... Wait you made friends with the nurse? I've never met her."

"Yeah, she's like the female version to me. Except she's Italian."

"Oh wow. I'd love to meet her some day. Anyway, you said you had to talk to me about something?"

"Oh. Right. That." I walked to the table she was sitting at and sat down.

"Well... What's going on?"

"Now I know I said I would make a truce with W...Jake, but he is just testing my patience."

She rested her head in her hand and sighed. "Somehow, I knew you were going to say that."

"Yeah, well, he irks me. He just shoved it in my face how he has your virginity. Please, for the sake of all that is good, tell me he is lying."

She shut her eyes tightly before covering her eyes with her hand. "No...he's telling the truth," I slammed my hands on the table,"but he was not supposed to say anything about that."

"Uh, well, he did, and now I want to tie him up and punch him until he's unconscious, then when he wakes up, I'll burn all his fingers and toes. After that I'll put him in a glass box and cover the floor with gasoline. Then I will ignite the room and watch him slowly burn to death. Finally I will take the remains and throw them in the ocean for the sharks to eat."

"Okay...Why do you dislike him so much?"

"He has s special part of you that I will never have. Ever."

"Well think of it like this. I could have given up my virginity to you, but feel in love with Jake and started a family with_ him_."

"Don't jack up my mind with those thoughts, Calleigh."

She shook her had a smiled slightly. "Just think about it. Imagine that he was the man I love and you were him."

"Okay, 10% of my brain just died."

She laughed. "You're an idiot."

I took her hands. "But you know you love me."

"Eh...maybe."

"You think I'm a sexy Cuban."

"I didn't say that!"

"But I have proof you were thinking it."

"What proof?"

"She's four, beautiful, the result of hot, steamy se-

"UH HUH. I get it."

"What? I can't say it?"

"No, you can't. I don't want my private business to be the talk of the nurses tomorrow."

"How do you know they're even listening?"

"I'm a woman. I know when I'm being talked about."

"Fair enough,"I said, getting up and letting go of her hands. "I'll guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"What? You've only been here for like 5 minutes! Why do you always have to go when I want you to stay?"

"Oh, jeez, sorry. I just assumed you would want to sleep."

"I don't."

"Okay," I said, sitting back down,"I guess I'll stay longer."

"Great! So, tell me about the nurse."

"Oh Abby? She's great. We share the same interests and have the same sense of humor. Oh! And we're invited to her wheelchair friendly house for dinner whenever we want."

"Oh, wow. Well I look forward to meeting her."

Just then the door burst open (scaring the hell out of me), and Alexx stood there with a worried expression on her face. "It's Gabriella..."


End file.
